Yugoslavia: The Fading Fear

Ever since World War II, Yugoslavs have talked only in whispers about the dreaded UDBA (for Uprava Drzavne Bezbednosti), or State Security Directorate, a faceless army of 20,000 or so state snoopers who modeled themselves after the Soviet secret police. But after finding a listening device in his own bedroom, Marshal Tito two months ago called for sweeping reforms and fired the security chief, Vice President Aleksandar Rankovic, 56. As a result, UDBA has become fair game for exposes.

There was plenty to expose. Capitalizing on their privilege to leave and enter the country at will, UDBA agents apparently bought stolen Fiats for $200 from confederates in Italy, then drove the cars into Yugoslavia, where they fetched $1,240 apiece. Using concentration-camp prisoners as laborers, the secret police turned a marble quarry on the Adriatic isle of Goli Otok into a thriving business.

Operating behind front men, UDBA owned several ocean-going cargo ships, and engineered its own trade deals with foreign merchants. UDBA also maneuvered managers into top positions in state-owned industries and then demanded a kickback from their salaries.

In addition, it ran farms, dealt in antiques and trafficked in drugs. But perhaps its biggest racket was protection. If the bribe was right, UDBA could hush up crimes or fix sentences for defendants facing stiff penalties. In fact, UDBA was not above framing.

So far, at least 1,500 UDBA officials have been purged, and many more seem certain to lose their jobs, for the government intends to reduce the secretpolice strength by two-thirds. More important, the UDBA has lost its state-within-a-state status, and its ability to hold an entire people in a grip of fear.