Fast flyovers

The new government came with the maxim that they should be leaders of general state affairs and not executors of party desires and whims. The promises given are acceptable, but according to what happened with the arrival of the new president of the District Court in Belgrade, as far as personnel decisions are concerned, almost nothing happened.

Either the flyovers were flying fast, or…

Your journalist in the last issue shows that he is very well informed. It can be seen from the text that he himself or his source tried to preserve some "trusts" of the former regime, not to mention them. He mentioned some who were less servile than those who were closer to the regime. They were preserved themselves for all the leaders of the former regime in the last ten years, especially for the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Serbia and the presidents of the courts. These are trustworthy people, satisfied that they can "finish" something for the minister or president.

At the trial of the NATO leaders, in the echelon of irreplaceable, trusted patriots on assignment, there were investigating judges S. Čukić, M. Paunović, and the press representatives of judges S. Važić and I. Simić, and in the already mentioned committee for the reception of the injured, which should not be hear, Biljana Dragojević-Kalamperović (whose husband was the ex-officio defense attorney in the same proceedings), and others who were mentioned in the daily press.

Nothing can be completed without Judge Važić, because first he was a favorite of Minister Janković when he was the president of the 1st Municipal Court. He always tried important cases, and he kept that trust by coming to the District Court. He immediately became the head of the second-degree criminal department. He also became the manager of his wife, who comes from the 4th municipal court. Thus, a precedent was created in the Serbian judiciary, because until then spouses could not be judges of the same court, let alone the same department.

They emphasized that they are friends with Minister Janković and the President of the 1st Municipal Court Milikić. The latter was advised which of the judges of that court could be in the criminal department, and Janković was advised when he was the president of the 1st municipal court to appoint only a young judge as the head of the criminal department, and not the experienced Savić or Blažić. They bragged that the minister called Judge Važić to apply for the Supreme Court of Serbia, because the registered candidates were bad.

Privileges during the trial of NATO leaders, in addition to the ones mentioned, had some others not mentioned, and since your journalist's source is well informed, maybe he will say something about them as well.

During the time of President Marjanović, some leadership positions were hereditary, e.g. the head of the administrative department, and which position is inherited according to the family and party principles. Katarina Manojlović-Andrić, the former manager, is being succeeded by her husband's brother, Obrad Andrić.

All the privileged were always informed about what Bogoje Marjanović, the president of the District Court, would do and what steps he would take, including the fact that certain judges were about to be dismissed in June 2000. They said that those judges were politically motivated and involved, opponents of the regime, members of non-governmental organizations that provided them materially.