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May 15, 2000 Bogoljub Arsenijevic Maki, a painter and a fugitive Simultaneous Rebellions in All the Cities and Towns Won't Result in Casualties
Bogoljub Arsenijevic Maki, a painter and the organiser of the civil rebellion causing commotion and tumult in Valjevo last summer, is a modern Serb phantom. He escaped from the hospital in a mysterious way after having been brutally beaten and subsequently serving eight months out of three years of imprisonment to which he had been convicted following the unrests in Valjevo. He is currently at large, but in hiding so he turns up for various events taking place in the city in disguise. His prison sentence was revoked, but not the orders for his detention (sic!), yet Maki is not to be deceived so easily... FS: Are you hiding in the country or abroad? I'm in Belgrade. If I were out of Serbia, then I'd call you on the phone. I can't do that because they might discover my hideout. This is a police state and I've already fell for their scheme once but never more. FS: What are you doing in Belgrade? I'm entirely committed to preparations for the rebellion against dictator Milosevic. Also I've composed some music together with a young man for a CD which we're going to offer to B2-92 as a present. It's a techno and ambient material. If they made some money out of it to extend their coverage, then I'd be glad indeed. FS: Why have you refused to be pardoned, and then escaped from prison? To accept mercy from the executioner would lead to moral death, while my refusal to be pardoned and the escape from prison mean a moral life for me. In my view, a man is a historical and 'biographical' creature. His actions will stay to bear witness about his life even after he's gone. I'll never allow myself to tarnish my good name because I leave it as a legacy to my children, my people and my country. Those people who bear no responsibility towards children, people, their country, land and history and who are incapable of making the supreme sacrifice represent evolutionary and metaphysical flaws at the level of paramecium, and subsequently creatures unaware of true values and true meaning of life. A man is not just anyone capable of two-footed striding walk but also the trace left behind him. However, escape from prison does not in itself entail an end to my nonacceptance and self-liberation. I've merely passed from one prison to a larger one because Serbia is large prison in which the innocent die violent deaths every day. FS: Will you rebel once again? Rebellion has never ceased to exist. If a man does not rebel against his fall in civilisational terms, he cannot evolve. That's why Serbia is still in the Stone Age. Communists - the Neanderthals have been in power in these parts for more than half a century. Until we place them where they belong - in some archaeological museum, we're their accomplices. I want my children to live in a Serbian Manhattan, not in Communist caves. Ever since the uprising against the authorities last year in Valjevo, my personal rebellion hasn't ceased to exist. It hasn't ceased in prison, and it won't stop while the dictator still sits on his bloody throne. Anyway, I've escaped from prison so that I could dethrone this diabolical dictator and his mafia. FS: Are you writing a book as the word has it? I'm writing no book. I keep my personal records in my diary, just like any housewife does. I'm working on a specific model of rebellion. In prison I've finished two manuscripts. The first one, entitled Gaoler's Throne, is about my experiences, but it isn't ghastly pathetic in personal terms. Actually I narrate a story through nameless and wasted people about perennial slavery of people and their immortal ideas. I've just completed my model of rebellion entitled Rebellion and How to Rebel in which I present in detail the way to stage a rebellion. Actually it's a proposal which should put an end to Serbian agony. Through Civil Resistance movements previously established in all the cities, towns, municipalities and villages the citizens should simultaneously within a day liberate the places they live in. This text about ways to rebel by means of Civil Resistance groups is already being printed and the copies will be distributed to the citizens through secret channels, or perhaps, I'll pull off some prank, dupe the authorities so that the people could more easily get acquainted with the contents of this booklet. FS: What is your recipe for rebellion? 
Chop finely a bunch of parsley and celery, add garlic and spices, pepper and caraway. Cook for a while and you'll get extremely aromatic and light soup. Enjoy it as you're slurping it up and then you should go to the city square to stage previously planned rebellion which is to take place simultaneously in all the cities and towns of Serbia attracting all of the united Serbian people. Mlosevic's house of cards will fall apart and he will be left without anything in his possession. I believe in a similar scenario including previously thoroughly prepared rebellion following the model I've suggested. General uprising articulated through civil resistance movements is fully justified, necessary and the only viable model for a rapid liberation of the country. Civil resistance movements are not political parties or similar entities - they represent the people, they stand for every single citizen of this country. Organised citizens are to surround all the buildings housing municipal and state organs as well as post offices, heating plants, local courts, police stations, prisons, companies, schools, banks, offices of Serbian Revenue Administration, premises of ruling political parties, broadcasters and city assemblies demanding that all the cities and lands be peacefully surrendered to the people. If the dictator does not accept the terms of the people's ultimatum within the specified deadline, then the citizens of the civil resistance groups will take advantage of all means available until the liberation day. FS: What about the police? I leave nothing to chance. I'm well aware of their psychological and physical condition. Milosevic's private army numbers around 120,000 policemen including the civilians working for the police force. The objective of the Civil Resistance is to engage them simultaneously in as many cities and towns throughout the country as possible so that they dissipate their energy and power. We'll show how serious we are when we put them to the test and give them a few days only to withdraw. FS: Will this foreshadow a civil war in the country? Instigators of the civil war have emerged both within the regime's ranks and on the opposition scene for reasons only they have knowledge of. However, every normal man is well aware that it's an artificial warmongering psychosis created for internal use only. Direct conflict in which people might get killed is simply impossible. Between 30 and 40 per cent of the citizens will take part in general uprising and the same percentage of the police force because they're also the citizens of their hometowns. Milosevic will be forced to deploy local police officers and they're actually our fellow citizens. Will those people of flesh and blood 'courageously' come up against their neighbours, friends and relatives in the name of utter uncertainty without previously asking themselves a simple question: "And what about tomorrow?" They should be aware of the fact that none of their colleagues from neighbouring towns would come to their rescue. If the dictator dares deploy local police force in other towns for tactical reasons, then those wretched fellows will be even more confused as they'll find themselves in unfamiliar surroundings. However, there can be no armed conflict in either scenario for quite simple reasons. You'd have around 3,500,000 citizens confronting some 30,000 or 40,000 policemen. As we know that the police would have to stretch their power to cover countless places throughout Serbia, they certainly won't be able to put up any defence against the citizens. And particularly so if we bear in mind that more than a hundred people per one policeman on average have come up against them. For psychological reasons, given that the citizens will have the initiative, it's hard to believe that anyone from the police force will dare spark the conflict. If we further take into account that Milosevic will certainly build around himself at least five lines of defence, which would engage some 10,000 elite police officers, he will have to rely in the field on traffic policemen only. They have to deploy at least 30,000 policemen in 150 municipalities. In each municipality we'll have 5,000 citizens confronting 50 policemen. Could anyone imagine this 'standoff' evolving into a civil war? FS: What about the army? The people are the army and the people will stand up for their families. The people will certainly not defend Milosevic and a couple of his scarecrows - army generals. However, these calculations will turn out to be useless because the citizens gathered in their cities and towns with an articulate idea on how to temporarily take over the reins of power will represent an extremely forceful weapon which will make Milosevic vanish into thin air even before anything actually takes place. I want just to show the citizens by citing these figures that the real power lies in the people and not in Milosevic's hands as his television portrays it. FS: If the regime is to be overthrown through rebellion, won't there be a realistic danger of liberation turning into anarchy? After the conquest of all the political institutions and municipal organs, civil resistance groups would automatically appoint already prepared citizens, experts in their field, who haven't discredited themselves in the past, to make an inventory and ensure that everything runs smoothly. Chosen activists of civil resistance groups would continue performing their tasks until early democratic elections at all levels take place. The elections should be organised and conducted by expert teams headed by G 17 Plus group. FS: Why G 17 Plus of all organisations? That's because the top priority is to stop further collapse of economy and ensure its accelerated revitalisation and the first thing to be done is to organise fair elections. G 17 Plus represents a non-party organisation, the only one which has been tackling real problems. This organisation won't create rules to suit itself and its members, but they will work for the benefit of the people. Besides, I contacted no one from G 17 Plus. I expect from them, and all the citizens alike, regardless of their political affiliations, the citizens who are against dictator Milosevic and in favour civil resistance, to join in and take part in a general rebellion which should give birth to our freedom. After making public this model of rebellion, I want everyone to realise that there's no other realistic option but to rebel. FS: What will civil resistance groups be doing after the elections? 
Activists of civil resistance groups will have no right to run in the elections and neither will the activists of expert teams. I certainly won't run in any elections... We'll prove that rebellion needn't grow into a dictatorship imposed by the rebels. This is a modern and civilised rebellion with precisely defined objectives and restricted powers bestowed upon individuals. Team work is the most important because people will organise and conduct all the activities and not the opposition. People aren't fighting to come to power but for the rule of law, economy, education, social security, culture and democracy. The activists of civil resistance groups will abandon their activities in all the free cities and towns after the elections thus effectively abandoning their posts so that the elected representatives might assume their duties. Civil resistance activists will still be active in the field of educating the citizens about a new, autonomous, democratic and civil society. Civil resistance groups will represent the consciousness of every single city and town in the country and the most vigorous opposition to the new authorities and the political opposition. FS: Do you believe that we can't get rid of this regime in fair elections? A man of Communist and provincial provenance is to blame for the state our country is in right now. He's building concentration camps and dungeons so that he might indulge in committing atrocities against his own people and against other nations in our name. The police and the army he relies on are the only means at his disposal for maintaining himself in power. Bearing in mind the generations which are yet to come, I consider our need to liberate ourselves as a natural and moral right. Our courage is the only thing left which would help us free our own selves, while our awareness of our rights being threatened is the essence of our courage. At the same time this is our only option. Fair elections in our conditions are unrealistic. If Milosevic schedules the elections, he'll actually schedule them for himself only. If for a moment it occurs to him that he might lose, thus jeopardising his own and his family's position, then he won't schedule them at all. If it happens anyway, he won't give up without wreaking havoc and causing bloodshed. FS: What's the place of the opposition bloc in this story? Milosevic has been a moribund ever since the bombardment stopped, but the opposition bloc is incapable of realising this obvious fact. We still remember how Vuk Draskovic (President of the Serbian Renewal Movement) prevented the people from overthrowing the dictator in the streets immediately after the bombing by constantly repeating that this could be done only by means of the legitimate elections. When was Milosevic legally elected? He wasn't elected by the people but by his bloodthirsty cronies. The Alliance for Change was ineffective last year in staging protests throughout Serbia yet for a whole decade the opposition has been wasting the citizens' energy demanding Milosevic's resignation. Vuk just dared not shake up things a little while the rest of them just strove in vain. Given that all the opposition parties claim that they're working for the people and against Milosevic, then they should embrace this idea of rebellion and do everything in their power so that the inevitable be realised as soon as possible. FS: What would be your message for the citizens? Milosevic is our true evil. Let's finally join each other to form a clenched fist, to put up resistance. Student, civil, people's, opposition, pedagogical, workers', labour unions', pensioners', peasants', refugees' resistance. We have to be united, courageous and we have to act simultaneously in all parts of our country. Just to feel the warmth of sunshine again - this summer already. Milica Bjelovuk Note: Above is an integral version of the interview published in Belgrade daily Glas javnosti.
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