"DEMOKRATIJA" interview 

Q. In post-war Serbia, the mood in favour of the monarchy has never been better than now. Do you hope to return for good in the near future? 

HRH Crown Prince Alexander: I am delighted to see that your question confirms that the support for the monarchy in Serbia has considerably strengthened in recent times. You are not the only one who shares that view. 

Since my earliest youth I have wanted to live in the country of my ancestors and to share good and evil with my people. However, the communist regime saw the Karadjordjevic's as a threat to their absolute power and deprived my whole family of their nationality and all other rights, including myself though I was not even one at the time, and I thus became a homeless exile. It is not, therefore, relevant whether I hope for an early return home but whether conditions will be met for my return. I am ready to go back as soon as the Serbian people solve this problem. 

Q. Pro monarchist movements can be seen not only in Serbia but in the Balkans in general (Romania, Bulgaria, Albania). Do you see this as a new historical trend? 

HRH Crown Prince Alexander: I believe this is evidence that the monarchy is not a historically outdated institution but a system of government considered by many nations as best suited for their interests and progress. After the fall of communism and the total bankruptcy of communist ideology, some nations in Eastern Europe and the Balkans found themselves totally disoriented and searching for a way out from the disastrous economic and political crisis. Transition from communist totalitarianism to democracy is not at all easy and cannot be effected overnight. In the post-communist period, democratic institutions and democratic practice are still either very weak or even non-existent. In this situation the idea of the restoration of monarchy appears very attractive, and rightly so. I am convinced that the monarchy can play a positive role in these countries. 

Q. To be specific: what would Serbia gain by establishing the monarchy? 

HRH Crown Prince Alexander: It would gain a symbol which would show the nation and the world that a definitive break with the communist past has been effected; a symbol which would restore the respect for Serbia in the world and would give hope to all her citizens that their future would be better. Likewise, the monarchy would be a guarantee of democratic freedom and the foundation stone of the rule of law, as well as the symbol of national unity and continuity of the state. In brief, after the tragedy experienced by the Serbian people in recent years, the monarchy would open a new opportunity for them to assert their identity in the community of democratic countries and to find their rightful place in the world. Personally I believe that the restoration of the monarchy would help the Serbian people discover again their true identity and their soul, as well as find a way out of the spiritual confusion from which they still suffer. 

Q. How is your son Peter III Karadjordjevic getting ready to discharge his duties as king of Serbia? 

HRH Crown Prince Alexaner: I think it is most important that my son Peter, as well as his two brothers, grow up as normal young men who will get to learn about life in the same way as other children of their age. This is why Peter is being educated and getting ready for life in n the company of his contemporaries and within the circle of his family. My wife and I are doing our best to give our children the best possible upbringing and education in our family home since we know that this is invaluable if they are to become honourable and hardworking men. We pay them enormous attention and devote to them a great deal of time. Peter and his brothers attend an excellent school, and we are doing our best to bring them up to be good Orthodox believers. Peter is now 17, and I believe it is time for him to gradually acquaint himself better with our countryÕs problems and get ready for the duties which will be his one day. For the time being, it is most important that he is a very good and intelligent boy who is conscientiously learning how to face the realities of life. 

Q. Some Serbian monarchists point out the possibility that Prince Tomislav may descend the throne until your son comes of age. What is your comment? 

HRH Crown Prince Alexander: I am surprised that such a question can be raised at all and that there are monarchists who think that way! The basic principle of monarchy is primogeniture, the right of the eldest child (in our case of the eldest son) to inherit the throne. In accordance with this principle, my Uncle Prince Tomislav could ascend the throne only after me and my three sons Peter, Philip and Alexander. My sons are still only children and I am, thank God, still alive and in excellent health. In view of this, a combination like that with Prince Tomislav is completely ruled out. The very fact that such a thought could occur in the heads of some people shows that there is great confusion in our country about the monarchy and the way it operates. 

Q. SPO is the party which most actively works in favour of the establishment of the monarchy. Does not this mean that your fate is conditioned by the political fate of one of the most controversial of politicians ­ Vuk Draskovic? 

HRH Crown Prince Alexander: It is true that SPO works most actively in favour of the restoration of the monarchy. I welcome that in the same way as I rejoice at the support for the monarchy given by various smaller parties as well as by many individuals who do not belong to any party. However, my fate can never be conditioned by the political fate of any politician for the simple reason that I do not belong to any political party. A king belongs to the entire nation, to all the citizens of his country regardless of their political affiliation and other differences. It is precisely in this that lies the attraction of the idea of monarchy. 

Q. What do you think about the current situation on our political scene? Do you believe in the possibility of a peaceful transfer of power in Serbia? 

HRH Crown Prince Alexander: It is not up to me to give an analysis of the current political situation in Serbia and Montenegro. I would like only to say that the establishment of democracy and the return of our country into the world and Europe must be our priority. In order to achieve that it is necessary to consolidate and revive the nation-wide pro-democracy movement in Serbia and Montenegro, which came into existence towards the end of last year. It will be terrible if the hope is betrayed of thousands upon thousands of people who lent their support to the demonstrations, and are not members of the opposition parties. The people have let it known both to the authorities and the opposition that they want radical changes, and peopleÕs will must be respected. We must not be people of fits and starts. 

I hope that a peaceful transfer of power in Serbia is possible and I pray to god to give wisdom to those in power so that they can see that their time is past. I am horrified even of the thought that there might come again to bloodshed among the Serbs and to the use of violence in political life. 

Q. A letter recently appeared in public with the obvious aim of causing a quarrel between you and the Serbian Orthodox Church. In your opinion, who would resort to such methods, and for what reason? 

HRH Crown Prince Alexander: I think the aim of this forgery was to undermine the authority and respect for the Church and the monarchy, and to sow confusion in the minds of people. Certain services of the regime do not like the popularity and the support that these two institutions enjoy among the people. They know that a majority of people want to remedy the historic injustice inflicted by the communist authorities on the Karadjordjevic family. They also know that the idea of a restoration of the monarchy is constantly gaining support. In view of this, they use any means to discredit the monarchy as an idea best suited to the psyche of the Serbian man. Since Church and Crown have always been pillars of the Serbian national entity, and hence a natural allies, these services thought it necessary to use any means to upset relations between them. Hence the forged letter. 

Q. Has this letter upset your relations with the Church and with Prince Tomislav to whom the letter refers in a very unsavoury context? 

HRH Crown Prince Alexander: The forgery, thank God, has not had the slightest effect on good relations which exist between His Holiness Patriarch Pavle and myself. Likewise, it has not upset in the least the good personal relations that I always had with my Uncle Prince Tomislav. 

Q. The King Peter I Foundation had its property returned recently. Do you think that the state has become somewhat better disposed towards the Karadjordjevic's? 

HRH Crown Prince Alexander: I welcome the recent verdict of the Kragujevac Regional Court to return to the King Peter I Foundation at Oplenac almost all of its property which was seized by the communist authorities immediately after the end of World War Two. I hope also that this verdict means that the judiciary in Serbia is gradually becoming more independent of politics and political pressure. As regards the state, personified in the present regime, I can say that its attitude towards the Karadjordjevic's has not become more benevolent at all. To this very day, the state denies the basic human rights to members of the Karadjordjevic family despite the fact that the fate of our dynasty has been indissoluble linked to that of the Serbian people in the past two centuries. 

Q. You were recently visited by the founders of the Democratic Youth for Kingdom organisation. How do you interpret their initiative? 

HRH Crown Prince Alexander: It was an enormous pleasure for me to meet these young people and to have a chat with them. I was enthusiastic because of their idealism and mature reasoning. This is no wonder in view of the fact that they were part of the Student Protest 1996/97 whose beautiful and witty attempt to convince the regime that its time has past was admired by the whole world. That surely was the purest and most beautiful protest during the anti-regime demonstrations. 

You ask how I interpret their visit and initiative? Only as an expression of their great patriotism, idealism and the desire to serve their people. In this time of spiritual confusion, greed and selfishness ­ that is most praiseworthy. I wish them much success in their undertaking. 

Q. The manner in which the latest transfer of power was effected in England (Major-Blair) could be a good lesson in democracy for Serbia. In your opinion, when will the democratic consciousness in Serbia reach that level? 

HRH Crown Prince Alexander: It is difficult to say when that will happen, but we must even now start working in that direction. Unfortunately, fifty years of communist dictatorship have set us back terribly in that respect denying the chance to the huge majority of our people even to get acquainted with democracy as a political system. That system is not perfect, but it is the best that exists, and it is never too late for us to introduce it in our country. But democratic institutions are not created overnight, and democratic practices cannot be acquired in a hurry. For that task we need much patience and goodwill, tolerance and above all true love for people and the country. What is also needed is that leading people in our country should have political wisdom. If the desire for democracy exists and if our new generations are brought up in a democratic spirit, there is no reason why our country too should not become democratic.