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  1. Reuben Henry Markham, TITO’S IMPERIAL COMMUNISM,

Kessinger Legacy Reprints, The University of North Carolina Press,

Chapell Hill, 1947

Strana 260

 

“The Orthodox church in Serbia was unswervingly and aggressively opposed to Tito. It sill is, in spite of the fact that it lost practically all its property. The authentic leaders of the powerful old Serbian Radical and Democratic Parties have been unreservedly against Tito. Even the half-Communist leader of the extremist branch of the small Serbian Peasant Party, Dragoleub Yovanovitch, is against Tito, while the leadership of the bulk of the party is aggressively opposed to him. A few renegade members of the Serb Peasant Party serve him, as renegades served King Alexander.”

 “Pravoslavna crkva u Srbiji je bezrezervno I agresivno bila protiv Tita. I još uvek je, iako je izgubila sav značaj. Autentične vodje moćne stare Radikalne I Demokratske stranke su takodje bile neopozivo protiv Tita. Cak I polu-komunistički vodja ekstremnog levog krila male srpske Zemljoradničke stranke , Dragoljub Jovanović, je protiv Tita , dok se vodjstvo većine te stranke agresivno suprotstavljalo njemu. 

Par otpadnika Srpske Seljačke Stranke mu se pokoravaju, kao sto su otpadnici služili kralju Aleksandru.”

 

Strana 288/289

“One of the striking signs of Yugoslavia’s “Gleichschaltung” and its submergence in World Communism was the treatment by Tito of Dr. Dragoleub Yovanovitch, Serbian leader of the National Peasant Party. During the month of May, 1947, he was thrown into prison on the pretext of being a spy ( one of the most serious of all Communist charges), in spite of the fact that, during his whole career, he had been very close to Communists. He worked vigorously for Yugolsav-Soviet good will. He was elected to the highest offices in “ New Yugoslavia,” meaning to Parliament and the Presidium. But in those posts he was not a rubber stramp for Tito. He criticized the new state budget, pointed out defects in the Five-Year Plan, protested against terror, and frankly accused the police of robbing peasants of their grain. It was for his defense of peasants that he was liquidated-politically. This is not merely the tragedy of a heroic individual, but it marks the violent elimination of the last remnant of independence in the National Liberation Front. By this and similar acts Tito has shown, within less than three years from the time he entered Belgrade as conqueror beside the Red Army , that his state will play the role of an unrestrained autocracy.”

 

 

 

 

 

“ Jedan od najupadljivijih znakova da se Jugoslavija prešaltovala,  I da se podredjuje svetskom komunizmu je bilo ophodjenje Tita prema Dragoljubu Jovanoviću, vodji Srpske Seljačke Stranke. U maju 1947 godine on je bačen u zatvor pod optužbom da je bio špijun ( jedna od najozbiljnijih komunističkih optužbi) , uprkos činjenici da je tokom cele svoje karijere bio blizak komunistima. On je strastveno radio u korist Jugosloslovensko-ruske ideje. Bio je izabran na najviše položaje u “Novoj Jugoslaviji”, odnosno, u Parlament I Prezidijum. Ali na tim položajima Tito nije mogao da ga koristi kao gumeni pečat (otirač).

On je kritikovao novi državni budžet, isticao mane prvog petogodišnjeg plana, protestvovao je protiv terora, I iskreno  optužio policiju zbog pljačkanja žita od seljaka. Zbog njegove odbrane seljaštva on je bio politički likvidiran. Ovo nije samo tragedija jedne herojske individue, nego označava I nasilničku eliminaciju poslednjeg ostatka nezavisnosti u Narodnom Oslobodilačkom Frontu. Ovim I sličnim aktovima, Tito je pokazao, u roku od manje od tri godine kako je ušao u Beograd kao pobednik uz Crvenu Armiju, da će njegova država igrati ulogu u nesuzdržanoj autokratiji.”

                                              

  1. Monty Radulovic, TITO’S REPUBLIC

Coldharbour Press ltd., London, 1948

Strana 206-208

 

“ I had a long talk , too, with Dr. Dragoljub Jovanovitch, leader of the Serbian Peasant Party and Secretary General of the People’s Front for Serbia, who caused a sensation when, speaking in Parliament in May, 1946, he stongly criticized the internal and foreign policy of Tito’s régime.

Dr  Jovanovitch, with a number of deputies from the People’s Front for Serbia, was about to form a Peasant People’s Bloc which would counterbalance the power of the Communist Party inside the Front, an idea very popular with Croat Peasant Party, which accepted Belgade as the centre of the Bloc and Dr. Jovanovitch as its leader, and which had the approval of the Peasant Parties of Montenegro, Slovenia,Macedonia and Bosnia. But before it was properly formulated Tito himself, helped by the Communist propaganda machine, quashed the idea and Dr. Jovanovitch and his followers were expelled from the Serbian Parliament.

“When I criticised Marshal Tito’s régime in Parliament,” he told me, “I  wanted to make it clear that I and my friends did not agree with the monopoly of administration by the Communist Party. Before the elections of November, 1945. The Communist monopoly was not so apparent, but following them the Communist Party made a monopoly of the People’s Front, factories and institutions and only their party figured in the Government, only the secretaries of local and district Communist Party organisations were given full authority for administration in their areas. Was this the unity of all-party government about which we were talking before the elections?

“In the country districts the peasant is mute, but worries. The Agrarian law is useless, while the peasants are at a loss to know to do with the land given them. The Communist leaders emphasise that this is a transition period. We need to stimulate the peasants to work, not kill our agricultural economy, as we have killed other activities in industry and trade. We have hundreds and thousands of idlers when we should be in full activity. I am also against the Communist treatment of the peasants.”

Dr. Jovanovitch advocated the principle that people in Yugoslavia should be released from fear, suspicion and mistrust, “which hinder reconstruction”, he maintained. “ I do not want the overthrow of this régime because I do not want chaos: I want normal and reasonable evolutionary improvements in our social system. I do not believe in power based on threats. We are a small country and poor.

“ Caution, too, is necessary in dealing with the people, who have become dangerously mute and there is danger when people are silent. It is no good to be a Kerenski” ( a former Russian Prime Minister), “who sees everything through rose-coloured spectacles and is surprised when one day he finds himself in exile.

“ I want co-operation with the Communist on the basis of equality . I want to be equal with them, not a pawn in their hands.”

When I mentioned that some elements in the country recommended eventual foreign intervention, Dr. Jovanovitch said:

“ I shall never seek foreign intervention for the settlement of our internal disputes. If, for instance, America and England intervene in our affairs, the U.S.S.R., will also intervene and the result will be at the expense of Yugoslavia. We can appeal to our Allies, both Eastern and Western, to understand our special circumstances and needs, but we should not deceive ourselves with hopes of foreign intervention. We should neither desire nor seed it. Intervention from abroad would lead to a new civil war and that is what we must avoid at all costs.”

“ I consider Soviet Russia to be our most powerful friend. But we appeal to them not to have liaison with only one party in this country, but with the whole people. Why should they have the sympathy of one party alone when they could have that of the whole nation?”

“ I believe that besides the Communist Party, which is identical with to-day’s Government, another force should be formed to express the will and further the interests of the peasants in our country. The formation of a peasant bloc, which I hope will one day be a reality, would normalise and bring true democracy into our public life. In it the peasant parties from each Republic would be united. The whole peasant population, which comprises 80 per cent.  of Yugoslav peoples, look for such a bloc.”

“ A Peasant bloc in the frame of the People’s Front would be the safest foundation of our State, a guarantee of a real federal republican system and authorities who really represent the people.”

“ I still believe that the Communist will awaken, free themselves from fear of imaginary adversaries and make us their allies.”

For his convictions Dr. Jovanovitch sacrificed his freedom. He was sentenced, in the summer of 1947, to nine years hard labour.

Other Opposition leaders from Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro and Bosnia held similar views on the situation of the country. I found it difficult to understand why Marshal Tito was not willing to treat with these people, who he himself had until lately acknowledged as honest men. Only with their co-operation could he find a real solution of the country’s problems. It seemed to me that Tito, by his brushing aside of any element opposing him, was defeating his own ends.”

 

“ Takodje, imao sam dug razgovor sa Dr Dragoljubom Jovanovićem, vodjom Srpske seljačke stranke I generalnim sekretarom Narodnog Fronta Srbije, koji je izazvao senzaciju kada je, govoreći u parlamentu u maju 1946 godine, oštro kritikovao unutrašnju I spoljnu politiku Titovog režima.

Dr Jovanović je sa odredjenim brojem poslanika iz Narodnog Fronta  hteo da formira Seljački Narodni Blok koji bi bio kontra-teža moći komunističke partije unutar samog Fronta – ideja vrlo popularna kod Hrvatske Seljačke Stranke, koja je prihvatila Beograd kao centar Bloka I Dr Jovanovića kao njegovog vodju, što je sve imalo I odobrenje  seljačkih stranki Crne Gore, Slovenije, Makedonije I Bosne. Ali pre nego što je ovo još  bilo jasno formulisano , Tito je lično, uz pomoć komunističke propagandne mašine , suzbio ideju i Dr Jovanovica i njegove sledbenike izbacio iz srpskog Parlamenta.

“ Kada sam kritikovao režim maršala Tita u parlamentu”, rekao mi je, “ Hteo sam da jasno kazem da se ja i moji prijatelji  ne slažemo sa administrativnim monopolom komunističke partije. Pre izbora u novembru 1945 godine, komunistički monopol nije bio toliko očevidan, ali posle njih, komunistička partija je napravila monopol od Narodnog Fronta, fabrika i institucija,i samo njihova partija je bila u vladi, a samo njihovim partijskim sekretarima  u lokalnim I sreskim organizacijama je dato ovlašćenje za upravljanje tim oblastima. Je li to bilo jedinstvo vlade svih partija o kojem smo pričali pre izbora?

U ruralnim oblastima seljak ćuti, ali se brine. Zakon o poljoprivredi je beskoristan, sve dok seljaci ne znaju šta da rade sa zemljom koja im je data. Komunistički rukovodioci naglašavaju da je ovo prelazni period, ali seljaci hoce da znaju koji će njihov položaj biti posle tog perioda. Mi moramo da stimulišemo seljake da rade, a ne da ubijemo našu poljoprivrednu ekonomiju kao sto smo ubili druge aktivnosti u industriji I trgovini. Imamo stotine I hiljade nezaposlenih u momentu kada bi trebalo da smo u punoj zaposlenosti. Takodje sam protiv načina kako komunisti tretiraju seljake.”

Dr Jovanovic je zastupao princip da narod u Jugoslaviji treba da bude oslobodjen straha, sumnje I nepoverenja “sto šteti rekonstrukciji”, on je tvrdio, “ Ja ne želim da rušim ovaj režim jer ne želim haos: ja hoću normalna I razumna evolutivna poboljšanja u nasem društvenom sistemu. Ja ne verujem u moć zasnovanu na strahu. Mi smo mala I siromašna zemlja.

Potrebna je predostrožnost takodje u ophodjenju sa ljudima koji su postali opasno ćutljivi, a opasnost postoji kada ljudi ćute. Nije dobro biti Kerenski ( raniji ruski premijer) koji sve vidi kroz ružičaste naočare i iznenadi se jednog dana kada se nadje u progonstvu.

Ja hoću saradnju sa komunistima na osnovu jednakosti. Ja želim da budem jednak sa njima, a ne pion u njihovim rukama.”

Kada sam pomenuo da su neki elementi u zemlji preporučivali stranu intervenciju, Dr Jovanović je rekao:

“Ja nikada necu tražiti stranu intervenciju za rešavanje naših unutrašnjih svadja. Ako, na primer, Engleska ili Amerika intervenišu u nase stvari, SSSR ce isto tako intervenisati, I rezultat ce biti na štetu Jugoslavije. Mi možemo da zatražimo od naših saveznika , i istočnih i zapadnih, da razumeju naše specijalne okolnosti  i potrebe, ali ne treba sebe da obmanjujemo sa nadama strane intervencije. Ne treba to ni da želimo , ni da tražimo. Inostrana intervencija bi dovela do gradjanskog rata , a to je ono što moramo da izbegnemo po svaku cenu.

Ja smatram sovjetsku Rusiju kao naseg najmoćnijeg prijatelja. Ali mi apelujemo na njih da nemaju vezu sa samo jednom partijom u ovoj zemlji, nego sa celim narodom. Zašto bi oni imali simpatije samo jedne stranke, kada bi mogli da ih imaju od celog naroda?

Ja verujem da pored komunističke partije, što je identično što I današnja vlada, druga snaga treba da bude osnovana koja će izraziti želju i zastupati interese seljaka u našoj zemlji. Osnivanje seljačkog bloka, što ce jednog dana nadam se biti realnost ,bi  normalizovalo i donelo pravu demokratiju u društveni život. U njemu bi seljačke stranke svih republika bile ujedinjene. Celo seljacko stanovništvo , što predstavlja 80% jugoslovenskih naroda, traži ovakav blok.

Seljački blok u okviru Narodnog Fronta bi bio najčvršći temelj naše države, garancija pravog federalnog republikanskog sistema i vlasti koja stvarno predstavlja narod.

Ja još uvek verujem da ce se komunisti probuditi , osloboditi sebe straha od imaginarnog neprijatelja i napraviti od nas svoje saveznike.”

Za svoja ubedjenja Dr Jovanović je žrtvovao svoju slobodu. On je bio osudjen leta 1947 godine na devet godina teškog rada.

Drugi opozicioni lideri iz Hrvatske, Slovenije, Crne Gore I Bosne su imali slična gledišta povodom situacije u zemlji. Teško mi je bilo da razumem zasto maršal Tito nije želeo da pregovara sa tim ljudima, koje je on do nedavno smatrao za poštene ljude. Jedino sa njihovom saradnjom on je mogao da nadje pravo rešenje za probleme zemlje. Izgledalo mi je da Tito, sklanjajući elemente koji su mu se suprotstavljali, nanosi poraz samom sebi.”

 

 

  1. Federick Augustus Voight , PAX BRITANNICA

Constable&co. ltd, London, 1949

Strana.251

“Tito asserts that Yugoslavia did not recognize Russia until “the German invaders were loudly knocking at Yugoslavia’ s door”. This is untrue, for the Yugoslav Government recognized Russie de jure a year before Yugoslavia was invaded, chiefly because recognition had been demanded for twenty years by the Serbian Peasant Party , led by Milan Gavrilovitch, the first Yugoslav Ambassador in Moscow, Yovanovitch, and others.”

 

“ Tito tvrdi da Jugoslavija nije priznavala Rusiju do  “ momenta kada je nemački okupator glasno zakucao na jugoslovenska vrata”. To nije istina jer je jugoslovenska vlada de jure priznala Rusiju godinu dana pre nego što je Jugoslavija bila okupirana, u najvećoj meri zato što je to priznavanje bilo zahtevano tokom dvadeset godina od strane Srpske Seljačke Stranke, pod vodjstvom Milana Gavrilovića, prvog jugoslovenskog ambasadora u Rusiji, Jovanovića I drugih….”

 

Strana 337

 

 “All legislative measures are preceded by a directive from the Government and all are passed by a unanimous acclamation, as in the Soviet Union.

In July 1946. Dragoljub Yovanovitch, one of the greatest orators in Europe, pleaded for true democracy in the House of Representatives. He was tried and sentenced to nine years’  penal servitude.”

 

“Sve zakonske mere su se donosile na osnovu prethodne direktive Vlade I sve se usvajale na bazi jednoglasne aklamacije, kao I u Sovjetskom Savezu.

Tako je, Dragoljub Jovanović, jedan od najvećih govornika Evrope, nakon što se  u Skupštini u julu 1946 zalagao za stvarnu demokratiju, osudjen I kažnjen sa devet godina strogog zatvora I prinudnim radom.”

 

 

 

  1. Robert Lee Wolff ,THE BALKANS IN OUR TIMES

W.W.Norton &Company,inc., New York, 1956

Strana 273  

 

“On July 17, Mihailovich was shot.

In the same month, Dr. Dragolyub Yovanovich, a member of the People’s Assembly on the Popular Front List, made a speech strongly criticizing the government. Yovanovitch,who had been educated in France, had served in the prewar period as professor of agricultural economics at the University of Belgrade. He had been a member of the left wing of the Serbian Agrarian Party, had been impriosoned under the dictatorship in 1932 for anti-states actitivities and in 1939 has founded his own Popular Peasant Party, which had some following among the Serbian peasantry especially in his native district of Pirot, but had not had time to become widely known or strongly entrenched before the war. Like Radich or Stamboliisky, Yovanovich was a left-wing agrarian who favoured peasant coöperatives, a Balkan federation, and close relations with Russia, but opposed communism as such. Though sympathetic to the Partisans during the war, he was at one time  said to have led his own resistance group in Pirot. He now declared that the peasants were not getting enough representation, that the public prosecutor had too much power, and that it is was unwise to depend exclusively upon the USSR in foreign affairs. He was given a grim lesson in democracy by the regime, which ousted him from the Serbian Assembly, and from his university post, forced his by now docile People’s Peasant Party to expel him, deprived him of his seat in the People’s Assembly, and eventually in September 1947 brought him to trial . He was charged with collaborating with British agents in the organization of a peasant opposition to the regime, and was sentenced to nine years imprisonment. This trial represented one of the high points of Yugoslav Communist injustice and undemocratic behavior.”

 

“ 17. Jula 1946 godine Draža Mihailović je bio ubijen.

Istog tog meseca, Dr Dragoljub Jovanović, član Narodne Skupštine na listi Narodnog Fronta, u svom govoru je snažno kritikovao vladu. Jovanović, koji je bio školovan u Francuskoj, u predratnom periodu bio je professor agrarne ekonomije na beogradskom univerzitetu. Bio je član levog krila Srpske Seljačke Stranke, bio je zatvaran  pod diktaturom 1932 godine zbog antidržavnih aktivnosti, I, 1939 godine je osnovao svoju vlastitu Narodnu Seljačku Stranku koja je imala sledbenike u seljaštvu, a naročito u njegovom rodnom Pirotskom srezu, ali nije imala dovoljno vremena u predratnom periodu da postane široko poznata I duboko utemeljena. Isto kao I Radic I Stamboliski, Jovanović je bio levi zemljoradnik koji se zalagao za seljačke zadruge, Balkansku federaciju, bliske odnose sa Rusijom, ali se odupirao komunizmu kao takvom. Iako je bio simpatizer partizana za vreme rata, govorilo se da je vodio svoju vlastitu grupu otpora u Pirotu. Ali sada je izjavio da seljaci nisu dovoljno zastupljeni, da javni tužilac ima suviše velika ovlašćenja, I da nije mudro zavisiti u spoljnim poslovima isključivo od Rusije. Dobio je mračnu lekciju demokratije od strane režima koji ga je izbacio iz Srpskog parlamenta, I sa njegovog univerzitetskog položaja, naterao njegovu sada vec potčinjenu Narodnu Seljačku Stranku da ga izbaci, uskratio mu njegovo mesto u Narodnoj Skupštini, I konačno u septembru 1947 godine ga I osudio. Optužen je da je saradjivao sa Britanskim agentima I da je organizovao seljačku opoziciju režimu, I bio je osudjen na devet godina zatvora. Ovo sudjenje je predstavljalo jedno od vrhunaca jugoslovenske komunističke nepravde I nedemokratskog ponašanja.”

 

 

 

  1. 5. Fitzroy Maclean , DISPUTED BARRICADE

Johnathan Cape , London , 1957

 

Strana 336/337

 

 “One engagement in this battle was that fought against Dr. Dragoljub Jovanović, the leader of the Serb Peasant Party. Dr. Jovanović, who during the war had done what he could to organize resistance amongst the Serbian peasantry, had been welcomed by the Partisans as a useful ally and in 1944 had joined Tito’s National Front. In 1945 he had stood for election and been made a member of the Praesidium of the National Assembly. He seems at this stage to have believed that he could exert a moderating influence on the regime and in 1946 he emerged as a bold critic of the Government’s attitude towards the freedom of the individual. The Government retaliated by arranging for his expulsion from what was left of his own Party. Undeterred, he continued openly to attack the Government’s policy of nationalization and industrialization, which he described in a speech before the Assembly as, ‘rash,tricky and tyrannous’. Even physical violence at the hands of a gang of Communist roughs did not deter him and, after a violent campaign against him in the Government press, he was finally arrested on May 14th,1947. His trial, which took place in October, found him still undaunted. Like that of General Mihajlović, it was made the occasion of violent attacks on Great Britain. He was accused of having, at the instigation of the British Secret Service, tried to organize ‘a Peasant bloc’, hostile to Government. But he strongly refuted this charge and defended himself so vigorously that the prosecution made but a feeble showing. He was nevertheless sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment.

Such were Tito’s preoccupations. ‘For us’, he had said to a friend in 1945, ‘the most dangerous thing of all would be to stop half way. What we achieved during the war was only a beginning.’ „

 

 

“Jedna od borbi koja je vodjena protiv seljaštva, bila je ona protiv Dr Dragoljuba Jovanovića, vodje Srpske Seljačke Stranke. Dr Jovanović, koji je za vreme rata učinio sve što je bilo moguće da organizuje otpor medju seljaštvom, bio je dočekan od strane partizana kao koristan saveznik I 1944 se pridružio Titovom Narodnom Frontu.1945 se kandidovao, I bio izabran u Prezidijum Narodne Skupštine. U tom momentu je izgleda još verovao da bi mogao da izvrši umeren uticaj na režim, ali već 1946 je postao oštar kritičar vladinog odnosa prema slobodama pojedinca.Vlada mu se osvetila time što je organizovala da ga Izbace iz njegove, vec oslabljene partije. Ne dajući da ga time ometu, on je nastavio da otvoreno napada vladinu politiku nacionalizacije I industrijalizacije, koju je u govoru u Skupštini opisao kao “ neodgovornu, podmuklu I nasilničku”. Čak ni fizičko nasilje komunističkih batinaša ga nije odvratilo I, posle divlje propagande protiv njega u vladinoj štampi, on je konačno bio uhapsen 14. Maja 1947. Ni njegovo sudjenje, koje se odigralo u oktobru, ga nije uzdrmalo. Kao I sudjenje Draži Mihailoviću, I na ovome je Velika Britanije žestoko napadana. On je bio optužen , da je po direktivama britanske tajne službe, pokušao da organizuje “seljački blok” protiv vlade. On je ovo oštro odbacio I branio je sebe tako silovito da je tužilaštvo ostavilo jako bled utisak. Uprkos tome, on je bio osudjen na osam godina zatvora.

Takve su bile Titove unutrašnje preokupacije. “Za nas” rekao je prijatelju 1945 godine, “ najopasnija stvar bi bila da stanemo na pola puta. Ono što smo postigli u ratu je bio samo početak.”

 

  1. Sabrina P. Ramet , THE THREE YUGOSLAVIAS,

 State-Building and Legitimation–Woodraw Wilson Center Press, Washington D.C., 2006

 

Strana. 80

 

 “The arrests of influential opposition leaders began in April 1929. The first to be arrested and imprisioned was Dragoljub Jovanović, leader of the left wing of the Agrarian Union and a professor at the University of Belgrade.Charged with having expressed anti-state opinions in a lecture to a student organization, he spent half a year in detention before a court finally cleared him of the charges in November 1929.”

 

 “ Hapšenja uticajnih ljudi iz opozicije počela su u aprilu 1929 godine. Prvi koji je bio uhapšen I zatvoren bio je Dragoljub Jovanović, vodja levog krila Zemljoradničkog Saveza I profesor Beogradskog Univerziteta. Optužen da je izražavao protiv državna misljenja na predavanjima studentskoj organizaciji, on je proveo pola godine u internaciji, pre nego što ga je sud oslobodio optužbe novembra 1929 godine.”

 

Strana 88

 

“ Moreover, the Agrarian Union had been gravitating for some time toward opposition, and after the imposition of the royal dictatorship, Dragoljub Jovanović, the aforementioned leader of the Agrarian Union’s left wing, was steadfast in opposition. Jovanović become involved in the illegal publication and distribution of an underground newspaper, Zemljoradničke novine, as well as anti-regime leaflets. On 2 May 1932, 43 prominent Left Agrarians, including Jovanović, took part in a conference in Kragujevac, it was the largest meeting of opposition politicians since 6 January 1929. The police intervened, apprehending Jovanović and 11 others, who were put on trial on charges of having held an illegal meeting. The accused based their defense on the argument that they were not anti-state but merely favored a federal arrangement for the state. Jovanović would be (re)incarcerated for a year, with three other persons receiving lighter sentences. The Time’s optimistic declaration (in June 1932) that a general consensus had been reached in Yugoslavia on the need to reorganize the system along federal lines notwithstanding, the advocacy of political change remained a political crime.”

 

 “ Šta više, Zemljoradnički Savez je vec izvesno vreme gravitirao prema opoziciji, a posle uvodjenja kraljevske diktature, Dragoljub Jovanović, već napred pomenuti vodja levog krila Zemljoradničkog Saveza, bio je najdosledniji u opoziciji. Jovanović je bio angazovan u izdavanju I rasturanju nelegalnih novina, ZEMLJORADNIČKE NOVINE, kao i protiv- režimskih letaka. Drugog Maja 1932 godine 43 vidjenija leva zemljoradnika, uključujući Jovanovića, uzela su učešće na konferenciji u Kragujevcu; bio je to najveći sastanak opozicionih političara posle 6.  Januara 1929. Policija je intervenisala hapseći pri tome Jovanovića I još 11 njih, I optužila ih zbog održavanja nelegalnog sastanka. Optuženi su svoju odbranu zasnovali na tvrdnji da se nije radilo o antidržavnoj aktivnosti , vec o podržavanju federalnog državnog uredjenja. Jovanović je bio ponovo uhapšen na godinu dana, a tri druge osobe su dobile lakše kazne. Optimistička izjava u listu TIMES (juni 1932) da je postignut opšti konsenzus u Jugoslaviji po pitanju reorganizacije Sistema u federalnom smislu, uprkos podršci politickim promena, ostaje politicki kriminal.”

 

Strana 107/8

“ Dragoljub Jovanović, unlike most other Serbs associated with the United Opposition, welcomed the sporazum , as the culmination of a long struggle on the part of Croats, but he noted, at the same time, that there remained a “ Serbian question” which needed to be addressed.”

“ Dragoljub Jovanović, za razliku od većine drugih Srba povezanih sa Udruženom opozicijom, podržao je SPORAZUM (Cvetković-Maček), kao kulminaciju duge borbe Hrvata, ali je napomenuo istovremeno, da preostaje za razmatranje  “Srpsko pitanje” .”

 

Strana 170/171

 

“The case of Dragoljub Jovanović,  the erstwhile leader of the Left Agrarians in the kingdom and now general-secretary of the People’s Peasant Party, is illuminating. The freethinking Jovanović, who was not prepared to sit quietly while basic democratic freedoms were subverted and demolished, repeatedly spoke out. His courage was repeatedly put to the test. In July 1946, as a direct result of his comments in the People’s Assembly of Serbia, Jovanović was expelled from that body. The following month, the Law Faculty of the University of Belgade stripped Jovanović of his rank as honorary professor “because of unscientific and anti-people’s statements in his lectures.” Subsequently, in October 1946, he was expelled from his own increasingly docile party, though he remained, for the time being, a member of the federal People’s Assembly. Then, in March 1947, during a joint session of the Assembly attended by Tito, Jovanović delivered a speech criticizing some aspects of the proposed budget, emphasizing the amount being allocated to the defense ministry (which he considered excessive).

Reactions to his speech ranged from “suppressed applause” to shouts of “Kill him!” Not much later, after a presidium vote had stripped him of his parliamentary immunity. Dragoljub Jovanović was arrested on charges of espionage for unnamed foreign interests. On the following day, Republika, the news organ of the Republican Party, published an editorial by Prodanović concerning freedom of speech, asking how freedom is advanced if people’s elected representatives are prevented from expressing their opinions and convictions in Parliament.

By the time his public trial opened in Belgrade on 1 October 1947, Jovanović had been charged, together with co-defendant Franjo Gaži, a member of the HSS, with having sought to overthrow the regime, in collaboration with the British intelligence service. On 7 October, Jovanović was sentenced to nine years at hard labor and loss of political and civil rights, as well as his government pension, for an additional three years, Gaži was given five years of hard labor. Released from incarceration at hard labor in 1955 or 1956, Jovanović was assigned to a road gang in the vicinity of Belgrade, thus being forced to continue to do hard labor.”

“ Slučaj Dragoljuba Jovanovića, ranijeg vodje levih zemljoradnika za vreme Kraljevine, a sada generalnog sekretara Narodne Seljačke Stranke, je prosvećujući. Slobodoumni Jovanović , koji nije bio spreman da sedi mirno dok se osnovne demokratske slobode podrivaju I uništavaju, neprestano se oglašavao. Njegova hrabrost je neprestano  stavljana na probu. U julu 1946 godine kao neposredni rezultat njegovih komentara u Narodnoj skupštini Srbije , Jovanović je bio isključen iz ovog tela. Sledećeg meseca, pravni fakultet Univerziteta u Beogradu oduzeo je Jovanoviću titulu vanrednog profesora “zbog nenaučnih I protivnarodnih izjava na svojim predavanjima”. Konačno, u oktobru 1946 godine on je bio izbačen iz svoje sve podčinjenije partije, iako je ostao privremeno član Federalne Narodne Skupštine. A onda, u martu 1947 godine za vreme zajedničke sednice Skupštine kojoj je prisustvovao I Tito, Jovanović je održao govor u kome je kritikovao predloženi budžet, podvlačeći iznos koji je bio namenjen ministarstvu odbrane (koji je on smatrao preteranim).

Reakcije na njegov govor su išle od “prigušenog aplauza” do uzvikivanja “ Ubijte ga!”. Ne mnogo kasnije, posle glasanja u prezidijumu, njemu je oduzet poslanički imunitet, Dragoljub Jovanović je bio uhapšen pod optužbom špijunaže za neimenovane strane interese. Sledećeg dana, REPUBLIKA, javni list Republikanske stranke , štampala je urednički članak Prodanovića u vezi sa slobodom govora, pitajući “kako je sloboda moguća ako se od naroda izabranim predstavnicima onemogućuje da izraze svoja mišljenja I ubedjenja u Parlamentu”.

Kada mu je počelo javno sudjenje u Beogradu 1. oktobra 1947 godine , Jovanović je bio optužen , zajedno sa drugo-optuženim Franjo Gaziem, članom Hrvatske Seljačke Stranke, da je pokušao da zbaci režim, u savezu sa Britanskom tajnom službom. 7. Oktobra Jovanović je bio kažnjen na devet godina zatvora sa prinudnim radom , gubitkom političkih I gradjanskih prava, kao I državne penzije za dodatne tri godine; Gazi je dobio pet godina I prinudni rad. Po izlasku iz zatvora 1955 ili 1956 godine , Jovanović je bio dodeljen grupi za održavanje puteva u blizini Beograda, nastavljajući na taj način prinudni rad.” (?)

 

Strana 598

“Had Dragoljub Jovanović been king, instead of Aleksandar Karadjordjević, and had Jaša Prodanović been the leading voice in the fashioning of the first constitution, rather than Pašić, the first Yugoslavia would most likely have taken a very different course – at least until 1941, when the country might still have fallen victim to attack by the Axis.”

“ Da je Dragoljub Jovanović  bio kralj umesto Aleksandra Karadjordjevića, I da je Jaša Prodanović bio vodeći glas u formiranju prvog ustava, a ne Pašić, prva Jugoslavija bi najverovatnije imala sasvim drukčiji pravac, u najmanju ruku do 1941, kada bi zemlja ipak  bila žrtva napada Osovine.”

 

 

Prevod Srdjan Jovanovic, porodica Jovanovic je u posedu svih originalnih knjiga