• OKO:  What arguments would you use in support of your recent Vidovdan visit to the FRY, or in other words, Montenegro and Kosmet, a visit covered by a veil of secrets and walls of silence?

HRH Crown Prince Alexander:  That is a ridiculous question. There have been no secrets or silence on my part.  If anybody was silent, it was the pathetic regime controlled media in Belgrade since it was not in their interest to report on my stay in Montenegro and Kosovo.  By going to Kosovo I fulfilled a dream and a wish to meet His Holiness Patriarch Pavle and people of Kosovo at this crucial time.  The original intention was to be in Kosovo for Vidovan at Gracanica and on Gazimestan.  I went with my wife to Pec a day after Vidovdan. I was in Montenegro for the first time and the stay there was superb.  Both the people and the country are wonderful.
 
 

• OKO:  How would you interpret today Obilic’s famous saying that “we shall see in Kosovo who can be trusted and who cannot”?

HRH Crown Prince Alexander:  Milos Obilic’s words were prophetic both on the eve of the battle of Kosovo and at this sad time.  The pathetic regime in Belgrade has left people in Kosovo in the lurch and they have to fend for themselves the best they can.  Most of these people had earlier always voted for Milosevic but now they are bitter about him and the regime.  The only Serbian institution that looks after the Serbian people in Kosovo is the Serbian Orthodox Church.  Patriarch Pavle’s decision to stay in Pec is of huge symbolic and practical significance. Assisted by bishops Amfilohije, Atanasije and Artemije, His Holiness is doing his best to stem the exodus and provide protection for the remaining Serbian population.
 
 

• OKO:  Who has sent an invitation to Your Excellency to visit these at present most threatened regions of the FRY?

HRH Crown Prince Alexander:  Another pathetic question. No one!  I most certainly do not need anybody’s invitation to go to my own country to be with all people. I personally made the decision to go for Vidovdan to Kosovo and to Montenegro. The communist regime after the Second World War had illegally banned my family and removed my nationality when I was two years old. 
 

• OKO:  Who did you meet and talk to, or in other words, what general and personal conclusions have you brought to London with you from these meetings and conversations?  (Djukanovic, Djindjic, Patriarch Pavle, Beckovic, the monks and priests, people…)

HRH Crown Prince Alexander:  The most important thing was meeting people, refugees at Pec and villagers at Gorazdevac not far from Pec.  The same applies to Montenegro where I met people after the Vidovdan memorial service at Lastva Grbaljska.   I did not see Mr. Djindjic, but  had met again in London the previous week.   Besides Patriarch Pavle and the bishops in Kosovo in Podgorica I met at length with President Djukanovic and this meeting was good. President Djukanovic told me that he did not want to secede from Yugoslavia, but equally did not want to, understandably, tolerate Milosevic’s dictatorial undemocratic regime. I had a conversation with the Bishop Joanikije of Budimlje at Cetinje.  I talked also with Matija Beckovic and other members of the Crown and Privy Councils who have specially come to Montenegro from Belgrade for the occasion.  The impression from my stay in Kosovo was a feeling of terrible tragedy and pain that has befallen both the Kosovo Albanians and Serbs.  My wife and I witnessed the devastated villages and towns, the smell of death, the smoke coming out from the burned Serbian houses and Albanian houses burned earlier. The dominant impression from Montenegro is one of a latent crisis, but also one of hope that things will and must change for the better in the whole of Yugoslavia.
 
 

• OKO:  According to an old Orthodox saying, “God protects the Serbs, but we too should help Him a little bit”!  What are you planning, Your Excellency, to do for your people (where and in what way can you help us)?

HRH Crown Prince Alexander:  The first and most important task is to get rid of Milosevic who has led us into the catastrophe which is still in progress.   Yugoslavia has no future if he does not go.  It is for this reason that I support the democratic opposition to remove Milosevic and people around him by peaceful means and with no revenge.   Equally, I give support to those who want a government of national salvation for a transition period.   In the longer term, it is necessary to work in favour of a spiritual revival of the people and the reconstruction of the state and society on a modern basis.   I work to further these aims both in the country and vis-à-vis foreign official representatives.  We have lost ten years and we cannot afford to lose another ten. 
 
 

• OKO:  In which order (a logical, historical, geopolitical and economic order justifying things) would you unravel this “spider’s web” that has been woven over the past  50 years, and knitted tightly into “a knot” over the last ten?

HRH Crown Prince  Alexander:  The order is as follows:  first  remove Milosevic from power in the interest of the Yugoslav people and in that I mean Serbian and Montenegrin people, all people. Avoid fresh bloodletting and armed conflict, though it is evident that Milosevic does not shrink from bloodshed.  Then take the steps enunciated above.  I have spoken about this at greater length in my recent Manifesto to all the people of Yugoslavia that was published in Serbian on the Internet, and in English in the “International Herald Tribune” of 10/11 July and other western media.   “Vesti” should publish my Manifesto?   I firmly stress that it is high time we got rid of old practices and old methods, which became the rule after 1945.  Especially to get rid of the mafia way of exercising power and conducting business and turn a new page with a government putting our peoples interests first. Our people deserve better and we have the capability. Everyone must contribute constructively. 
 
 

• OKO:  We assume a similar question was put to you in all other interviews, but precisely because of the situation in which we all find ourselves and which is much more unstable than when you went to your homeland for the first time in 1990/91, it seems apposite and timely to ask: of what import is the monarchy to this country and to this people?  How would you argue pro and con monarchy?

HRH Crown Prince Alexander: You have raised an important question.   If people care for their own interests they must also care about monarchy.  The monarchy is the system of government best suited to the spirit of our people and also is best placed to protect democracy and human rights.  Constitutional Monarchy is doing fine in Japan, Great Britain, Canada, Spain, The Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium and many more countries.  In our case constitutional monarchy offers a clean break from the past nightmare, baggage and provides a bright future. My task is to put all people first and they will make the ultimate decision about which government they wish through proper democratic elections. The King and Crown are the symbol of unity and continuity and guarantee the constitution, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.   The Crown is very much the symbol of national unity and the nation’s historical continuity.   In our case, the King is the first “domacin” (head of household), which is deeply in accord with our perception of community.   It would be naïve to believe that the monarchy in Yugoslavia would solve all our problems but its restoration would mean the important clean break with the recent disastrous past and a promise of a better future.   I must point out that the Karadjordjevic’s are a national dynasty produced by the Serbian people and linked in common destiny with the history of the people for the past two centuries.  I am very proud of my Karadjordjevic and Petrovic blood running in my veins, as I am also proud of my commitment to a democratic Yugoslavia. Our country enjoyed great prestige in the world when it was a kingdom and was an important political factor in the Balkans and in Europe.  So let’s wake up and get on with the task and do good for our great people.
 
 

• OKO:  Have you got any idea how the Serbs could protect themselves against the burden of “collective guilt” imposed on them?

HRH Crown Prince Alexander:  The concept of “collective guilt” does not exist in jurisprudence.  Our people are not guilty of misdeeds done by the Milosevic regime.  But precisely so that the guilt does not fall on the “collective”, I think it is necessary for the Serbian people to distance themselves from and condemn the crimes committed allegedly in their name from the break up of the old Yugoslavia until now.  I would give the same advice to the other peoples of the old Yugoslavia, but we are talking here about the Serbs.  The Serbs, as a people, have never wanted to base their happiness on the unhappiness of other peoples.   We shall examine all events calmly and undertake justice only in a reformed democratic Yugoslavia. No one can bring shame to the honoured name of the Serbs with impunity.    
 
 

• OKO:  What (and who) would you like to see next Vidovdan in your homeland?

HRH Crown Prince Alexander: My greatest desire is that the people get rid of the current regime and that the Serbs and other citizens of Yugoslavia welcome the next Vidovdan in a free country engaged in reconstruction and renewal.  I would like to be in my country and with my people for good by next Vidovdan so that we can work together to create conditions for a decent life for everyone regardless of religion or ethnic origin and there is no longer any need for our children to emigrate in search of bread.
 
 

• OKO:  Is a government of national salvation a utopia, or a reality not far away?

HRH Crown Prince Alexander:  A government of national salvation is not a utopia but a reality waiting to happen.  Such a government is the only hope that we will not fall completely into the abyss, that Serbia does not become a new North Korea or even something worse.   The Church too has given her support to the idea of forming a government of national salvation.  The Serbian people are capable of seeing that the regime is leading them to total disaster and perpetual isolation. We must have a disciplined government of national salvation guaranteed by our Armed Forces as the only transitional solution towards democracy. We need the period of serious democratic and economic reforms in all areas coupled with a well-founded plan for reconstruction and development. 
 
 

• OKO:  What do you expect from your people in the country and what from those in the Diaspora?

HRH Crown Prince Alexander:  I want the people both in the country and in the Diaspora to do their duty towards our country and future generations.   I want everyone to take moment and think before allowing more stupidity and pain to befall our people. This is a crucial time and every one of us is answerable before history for their actions now when the existence of our people is at stake.   This is not the time for standing idly by, this is the time for getting fully engaged to help the people.   This applies equally to the country and the Diaspora.
 
 

• OKO:  What do you expect from Kfor in Kosmet?

HRH Crown Prince Alexander: Kfor is faced with huge tasks and I am sure that for the time being not all of them can be carried out satisfactorily.  Its first task is to ensure peace and security for all Kosovo inhabitants but it is clear that Kfor can fulfil this task only in part.  For instance, Pec and part of Metohia are in the Italian sector but the Italians simply do not have a sufficient force to guarantee security to the Serbian population.  The other serious problem is that the border with Albania is now open and that anybody can cross it freely into Metohia and threaten the interests of Kosovo Albanians and, even more so, of the remaining Serbian population.  The United Nations and the European Union will have to tackle this problem seriously.  Perhaps the situation will improve once the United Nations succeed in setting up a civilian administration but for the time being, during this period of transition, it is a very dangerous situation for the Serbs as witnessed by their continued exodus.
 
 

• OKO:  How to put our name on the waiting list for the “Marshall Plan”?

HRH Crown Prince Alexander: The answer to this is very easy though its implementation is more difficult: introduce genuine democracy and the rule of law respecting the rights of all citizens irrespective of their political or religious affiliation; remove all traces of the unjust and non-free society; open up towards the world. Build a better future and prosperity for all. Our people need it now and cannot survive with the regimes insulting isolation policy or its idiotic anti Serbian games for the sake of remaining imperially in power over our people.
 
 

• OKO:  “Aware that I can be used, I am not going to allow them to use me” is an instructive saying but also the cue for this question:  who has used whom here and abroad in order to reduce temporarily our homeland to “a plot of devastated European wasteland”?

HRH Crown Prince Alexander:  Milosevic and his wife used and heavily abused the Serbian people for their own personal power and transgressed against them in the country and in the Diaspora.   He and his acolytes are responsible for Serbia becoming “a plot of devastated wasteland”.   He is the chief culprit since, blinded with his desire to stay in power, he paid no attention whatsoever to the interests of the people.   It is difficult even to imagine that such a man can rule our country at the close of the 20th century.  Obviously he is suffering from some kind of ailment.  It is high time for the people to realise all the horror of the situation in which Milosevic has put us.  A considerable number of people believed in Milosevic more than ten years ago, but it is high time now they faced the truth and joined the nationwide movement demanding his resignation.   The devastated wasteland should be turned into a fertile field, but this cannot be done with the regime.
 
 

• OKO:  When do you intend to go to again to Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nis, Kragujevac?

HRH Crown Prince Alexander:  The moment will come soon and I intend to visit everyone and make friends with everyone.  So let’s crown democracy through the government of national salvation before we become north Korea. So wake up and let’s do together for the sake of our wonderful people. 
      

/end/