The Obznana was the response of the bourgeoisie to the growing strength and influence of the Communist Party. Its goal was to secure the position of the bourgeoisie and the monarchy while preventing any legal activity of communists and the working class in general.
After the Obznana, mass persecution of the leaders and members of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (CPY) and trade unions followed. Civil rights were completely disregarded, and the most brutal methods were applied. This marked the beginning of a period of police arbitrariness and terror.
By order of the district chief, the text of the Obznana was posted as a public notice on the municipal building in Kumane, while its contents were also announced to the villagers by drum. In his report of January 13–14, 1921, the district chief of the Novi Bečej district stated that an organization had existed in Kumane, which he had dissolved. He described Kumane as a “nest of communists,” but noted that the list of leaders and members was not yet completed because there was no gendarmerie station in the village. In a subsequent report of January 31, 1921, the district chief submitted the list of the CPY leadership in Kumane, who were placed under strict police surveillance.
When a gendarmerie station was established in Kumane, almost all Party members were arrested. Some were taken to the notorious Glavnjača prison in Belgrade: Ljubomir Čolić, Racko Čolić, Đurica Jeremić, Žarko Strajić-Bađa, and several other comrades. The others were required to report to the authorities, many of them two or three times a day.
Due to the unlawful actions of the police in applying the Obznana, Nikola Kovačević, a communist member of parliament, sent a protest on March 9, 1921, to the high prefect of the Torontal-Tamiš County, stating among other things:
“Following the county order placing sympathizers and members of the communist organization under ‘strict’ police supervision based on the Obznana... in the village of Kumane, for two months these people have had to come every evening and report to the gendarmes... By such ‘strict’ police surveillance, around one hundred farming families have been affected. Since spring fieldwork is about to begin, these families are deprived of their daily bread. I most energetically protest and demand the abolition of this absolutely unjust ‘strict’ surveillance so that these poor people can perform their exhausting work without hindrance...”
The Obznana dealt a heavy blow to the Party organization in Kumane. However, despite the arrests of many local leaders, neither union nor Party work was completely destroyed. The authorities did not succeed in arresting all Party members. The remaining members continued to operate illegally and maintained mutual connections. Trade unions were banned after the Obznana, but their secretaries individually applied for permits from the local authorities. Some unions managed to function this way, while others were banned until 1923. The Agricultural Workers’ Union in Kumane was directly connected with Novi Sad, where the headquarters of the Union of Agricultural Workers of Yugoslavia was located.
A major threat to the regime were those Vojvodinians repatriated from Soviet Russia. Upon returning home, many of them became fervent propagators of communism. For this reason, the authorities kept strict records of their movements. Kumane had a significant number of repatriates, as around 100 locals had participated in the October Revolution. Unfortunately, detailed information about all of them does not exist. (It is known, however, that Nikola Stojić was included in the list submitted to local authorities by the high prefect on May 17, 1921.)
Comments