Yugoslav hope
Sir: It is obvious that the system be- queathed to Yugoslavia by Tito is nearing collapse. This is hardly surprising consider- ing its foundations: mass executions, judi- cial murders, concentration camps, rigged elections, militant atheism; brainwashing and persecutions. In view of the liberalisa- tion of the regime in its later years the misdeeds committed at its inception are now hardly remembered abroad, or if remembered, simply overlooked. It is naïve, however, to expect that given such origins the system can slip into democracy without turmoil and upheaval. It is even more naïve to hope that propped up by foreign loans it can carry on existing in its present form.
Writing in the Zagreb weekly Danas, the well known Yugoslav publisher, Slavko Goldstein, a one-time Communist and Partisan, suggests that the Yugoslav League of Communists still has a chance to end its heroic story of wartime resistance with an appropriate gesture: to be the first Communist Party ever to give up a one- party system and political monopoly which has everywhere been a failure.
Unfortunately, such a beau geste is impossible without moral integrity and the readiness to put the national interest above that of the Party. There are signs, howev- er, of a willingness to face unpalatable facts, such as the Slovene 'Dachau' trials, the Goli Otok concentration camp, the Bleiburg and Kocevje massacres to men- tion a few, and the numerous human rights groups and individuals in all the Yugoslav nations bear witness to the fact that the spirit of freedom and tolerance is alive and It is by supporting people like these who fight for the rule of law, equality among ethnic groups and the freedom of thought and expression that the. West will not only help Yugoslavia to achieve stability and genuine democracy with as little convul- sion as possible but will also lay the foundation of a sound economy based on private initiative. A free society and a successful economy is the best bulwark against the Lebanonisation of Yugoslavia which is in the interest neither of its constituent nations nor the West.
Alexander of Yugoslavia 4 Curzon Place, London W1
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