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 that Rankovic had wire taps leading back to his home and office, so he could tune in on the boss day or night, and that his agent had once taped a Politburo meeting so secret none of the participants were even allowed to take notes.

In the old days, this would have been a sure path to the firing squad or a prison cell; but last week, in a surprise move, Tito dropped the government's criminal case and pardoned Rankovic for humanitarian reasons and because of his meritorious service in the past. As nothing else could have, that demonstrated how far along the road to reasoned mellowness Tito and Yugoslavia have come.

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