Yugoslavia: Unmeritorious Pardon

Five months ago, President Josip Broz Tito discovered conspiracy most foul lurking behind every wall. Tito's office and home had been bugged to the rafters, and the fact was only slightly less startling than the identity of the chief bugger: none other than Tito's Vice President, heir apparent and old comrade-in-arms, Aleksandar Rankovic.

Rankovic, 56, turned out to be the head of a conspiracy, centered in the secret police, that opposed Yugoslavia's trend toward democracy and Western-style economic reforms. Tito purged the secret police; Rankovic and his fellow conspirators were ordered to stand trial before the Yugoslav Parliament. Evidence showed...

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