Read about The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Read the Convention Relating to the Regime of the Straits (24 July 1923) Read the Convention Relating to the Regime of the Straits (24 July 1923)
HR-Net - Hellenic Resources Network Compact version
Today's Suggestion
Read The "Macedonian Question" (by Maria Nystazopoulou-Pelekidou)
HomeAbout HR-NetNewsWeb SitesDocumentsOnline HelpUsage InformationContact us
Thursday, 28 March 2024
 
News
  Latest News (All)
     From Greece
     From Cyprus
     From Europe
     From Balkans
     From Turkey
     From USA
  Announcements
  World Press
  News Archives
Web Sites
  Hosted
  Mirrored
  Interesting Nodes
Documents
  Special Topics
  Treaties, Conventions
  Constitutions
  U.S. Agencies
  Cyprus Problem
  Other
Services
  Personal NewsPaper
  Greek Fonts
  Tools
  F.A.Q.
 

RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 184, 00-09-22

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>

RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 4, No. 184, 22 September 2000


CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

  • [01] ARMENIA CELEBRATES INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY...
  • [02] ...CALCULATES DROUGHT DAMAGE
  • [03] FORMER KARABAKH DEFENSE MINISTER REFUSES TO ATTEND COURT PROCEEDINGS
  • [04] THREE MORE AZERBAIJANI POLITICAL PARTIES BARRED FROM ELECTIONS...
  • [05] ...AS APPEALS COURT OVERTURNS BAN ON COMMUNISTS
  • [06] DATE SET FOR AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT'S IRAN VISIT
  • [07] AZERBAIJANI OFFICIALS CHARGED WITH PLANNING COUP
  • [08] GEORGIAN FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS FOR COOPERATION TO RESOLVE ABKHAZ CONFLICT
  • [09] OFFICIAL PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR GEORGIAN ARRESTED GUERRILLA LEADER
  • [10] KYRGYZSTAN WITHDRAWS SOME TROOPS FROM SOUTH
  • [11] TAJIK SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR ROBBING UN OFFICIAL
  • [12] TURKMENISTAN, UZBEKISTAN SIGN BORDER AGREEMENT
  • [13] OLYMPIC MEDAL COUNT--PART 1 COUNTRIES

  • [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

  • [14] SERBIAN OPPOSITION CALLS FOR MASS GATHERINGS
  • [15] BULATOVIC: MILOSEVIC MAY REMAIN YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT EVEN IF HE LOSES
  • [16] PAVKOVIC: YUGOSLAV ARMY READY TO DEFEND COUNTRY
  • [17] ALBRIGHT WARNS YUGOSLAV LEADERS
  • [18] MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT SAYS MILOSEVIC WILL NOT LEAVE QUIETLY...
  • [19] ...AND GENERAL CLARK ENDORSES THAT VIEWPOINT
  • [20] CROATIAN PRESIDENT TELLS ARMY TO BE READY
  • [21] MONTENEGRIN PRIME MINISTER HAILS KOSTUNICA OFFER ON ELECTIONS
  • [22] MILOSEVIC BACKER KILLS MONTENEGRIN POLICEMAN
  • [23] BOSNIAN SERB LEADER TELLS MILOSEVIC TO GO
  • [24] MACEDONIAN ELECTION CAMPAIGNING ENDS
  • [25] NASH SAYS ECONOMIC ACTIVITY KEY TO KOSOVA PEACE
  • [26] DEMOCRATIC PARTY ALSO CRITICIZES ROMANIAN PREMIER
  • [27] CZECH FOREIGN MINISTER IN ROMANIA
  • [28] ROMANIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY WITHDRAWS COURT APPEAL
  • [29] MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION BILL IN FIRST READING
  • [30] BULGARIA CLOSES INVESTIGATION INTO MARKOV'S MURDER
  • [31] OLYMPIC MEDAL COUNT--PART 2 COUNTRIES

  • [C] END NOTE

  • [32] NO EASY SOLUTION IN SERBIA

  • [A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

    [01] ARMENIA CELEBRATES INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY...

    Armenia on 21 September marked the anniversary of its 1991 declaration of independence with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Yerablur military cemetery, concerts, and a firework display, but no military parade, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. In his address to mark the occasion, President Robert Kocharian affirmed his belief that the reforms that the country launched after declaring independence will lead to "serious success." Meeting with fellow former political prisoners to mark the anniversary, Prime Minister Andranik Markarian noted the contribution to restoring independence made by Armenian dissidents in the 1960s-1980s, according to Snark, cited by Groong. The presidents of Russia, the U.S., France, and Iran all sent congratulatory telegrams to the Armenian leadership. LF

    [02] ...CALCULATES DROUGHT DAMAGE

    Agriculture Minister Zaven Gevorgian told the parliament's Committee for State and Legal Affairs on 20 September that this summer's drought has caused damage totaling $40 million to grain, fodder, and potato crops and that $23 million are needed to compensate for those losses, Noyan Tapan reported. Losses in the Shirak region amount to 7.2 billion drams ($10.8 million), regional governor Feliks Pirumian told Noyan Tapan on 21 September. Some 35,000 families in the region have lost all or part of their crops, and some 40 percent of the region's livestock must be slaughtered for lack of winter fodder. LF

    [03] FORMER KARABAKH DEFENSE MINISTER REFUSES TO ATTEND COURT PROCEEDINGS

    Samvel Babayan on 21 September said he refuses to attend further sessions of his trial on charges of plotting the assassination of Arkadii Ghukasian, president of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, a correspondent for RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported from Stepanakert on 21 September. Babayan, a former commander of the Karabakh armed forces and a political rival of Ghukasian, said he does not consider the enclave's Supreme Court authorized to hear his case, which he claims is politically motivated. Babayan's lawyer Zhudeks Shakarian had repeatedly demanded that the trial to be held in Armenia (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 and 21 July 2000). On 21 September, the court heard the 170-page indictment, which claimed that Babayan charged his most trusted men with the 22 March attack. Ghukasian sustained serious leg wounds in that attack. LF

    [04] THREE MORE AZERBAIJANI POLITICAL PARTIES BARRED FROM ELECTIONS...

    The Central Electoral Commission on 21 September rejected the applications of three more opposition parties to register their lists of candidates who were to have run in the 5 November parliamentary election for those seats to be allocated under the proportional system, Turan reported. The three parties are the Liberal Party of Azerbaijan, the National Democratic Party, and the Democratic Secular Azerbaijan Party. In each case, the commission ruled that fewer than the minimum 50,000 signatures required for registration were valid. To date, only four parties--the ruling Yeni Azerbaycan, the opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front, the opposition Azerbaijan National Independence Party, and the Civil Solidarity Party-- have been registered to contest the party-list seats, while a total of five parties, including Musavat and the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan, have been barred from doing so. LF

    [05] ...AS APPEALS COURT OVERTURNS BAN ON COMMUNISTS

    In its first-ever ruling, Azerbaijan's Court of Appeal annulled the Central Electoral Commission's 14 September decision barring the Communist Party of Azerbaijan from registration to contest the party list seats in the 5 November ballot, Turan reported on 19 September. That decision was based on alleged irregularities in the documentation submitted by the party (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15 September 2000). LF

    [06] DATE SET FOR AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT'S IRAN VISIT

    Heidar Aliev's visit to Iran, originally planned for September 1999 (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 2, No. 41, 14 October 1999), has now been scheduled for 8-11 October, Foreign Minister Vilayat Guliev told Turan on 15 September. Aliev was due to be discharged on 21 September from the U.S. clinic where he has been undergoing a medical checkup. LF

    [07] AZERBAIJANI OFFICIALS CHARGED WITH PLANNING COUP

    Former Gyanja police chief Natik Efendiev and the former commander of the Terter military garrison, Rasim Alekperov, have been charged with plotting to overthrow the Azerbaijani leadership, Turan reported on 15 September. Efendiev left Azerbaijan for Turkey in 1997 and was extradited in January of this year (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 3, No. 4, 28 January 2000). Alekperov was arrested in February. LF

    [08] GEORGIAN FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS FOR COOPERATION TO RESOLVE ABKHAZ CONFLICT

    Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York on 21 September, Irakli Menagharishvili criticized the UN Security Council's failure to endorse a draft UN document outlining the future division of responsibilities between Georgia and the breakaway Republic of Abkhazia, Caucasus Press reported. The Russian delegates to the Security Council had refused to endorse that document in July (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 August 2000). Shrugging off that criticism of Russia's role, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said the lack of progress in reaching a settlement of the Abkhaz conflict cannot be blamed on Russia because such a settlement depends, above all, on the "political will" of the Georgian and Abkhaz leaderships. Menagharishvili also said that since the UN cannot always resolve conflicts on its own, it should step up cooperation with the OSCE, and other European organizations in seeking such resolutions. LF

    [09] OFFICIAL PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR GEORGIAN ARRESTED GUERRILLA LEADER

    Tamaz Nadareishvili, who is chairman of the Tbilisi- based Abkhaz parliament in exile, told Caucasus Press on 18 September that the arrest of "Forest Brothers" guerrilla leader Dato Shengelaia constitutes an attempt to destroy that guerrilla movement. Shengelaia was apprehended in the west Georgian town of Zugdidi earlier this month after threatening a local market administrator (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 and 13 September 2000). He has been charged with resisting the police and may face additional charges related to his alleged involvement in smuggling across the internal border between Abkhaz and the rest of Georgia. Nadareishvili warned that the Georgian displaced persons from Abkhazia will "do their best" to defend Shengelaia if any further charges are brought against him. LF

    [10] KYRGYZSTAN WITHDRAWS SOME TROOPS FROM SOUTH

    Kyrgyzstan's Defense Minister Esen Topoev said in Bishkek on 21 September that an unspecified number of troops sent last month from the north of the country to strengthen the defense of the southern frontiers against incursions by Islamic militants will be withdrawn to their bases, Interfax reported. Topoev travelled to Batken the same day to tour the frontier region, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Interfax quoted Topoev as saying that there were no further clashes between Kyrgyz forces and militants during the previous 48 hours but a regional security official told RFE/RL on 21 September that a minor skirmish took place the previous night close to the Jyluu-Suu border post. LF

    [11] TAJIK SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR ROBBING UN OFFICIAL

    Rustam Ubaidullaev, a 48-year-old Tajik who robbed a UN official at knifepoint in Dushanbe in February, has been sentenced to death by a Dushanbe city court, AP and Interfax reported on 21 September. Judge Murodzhon Soloheddinov said the harsh sentence reflected Ubaidullaev's numerous previous convictions for rape, assault, and illegal possession of arms. LF

    [12] TURKMENISTAN, UZBEKISTAN SIGN BORDER AGREEMENT

    Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov and his visiting Uzbek counterpart, Islam Karimov, signed a treaty in Ashgabat on 21 September defining their shared 1,867 kilometer border, AP and Interfax reported. Karimov noted that the two countries are the first in the region to conclude such an agreement. He and Niyazov are also scheduled to sign a 10-year economic cooperation agreement during Karimov's two-day visit, ITAR- TASS reported on 20 September, quoting Turkmenistan's ambassador to Tashkent Soltan Permukhamedov. LF

    [13] OLYMPIC MEDAL COUNT--PART 1 COUNTRIES

    Through 21 SEPTEMBER CountryGoldSilverBronzeTotal Russia581023 Azerbaijan1001 Georgia0011 Kyrgyzstan0011 Armenia0011 Kazakhstan0000 Tajikistan0000 Turkmenistan0000 Uzbekistan0000

    [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [14] SERBIAN OPPOSITION CALLS FOR MASS GATHERINGS

    Leaders of the opposition appealed to their supporters to hold large public meetings in Belgrade and several other cities on the evening of 24 September to await the results of the Serbian and Yugoslav elections, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 21 September (see "End Note" below). Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic said that the opposition intends to "steal the elections with the help of NATO." In Novi Sad, some 30,000 supporters turned out for the closing rally of the opposition's campaign. Democratic Party leader Zoran Djindjic said: "We have no armed forces if [Yugoslav President Slobodan] Milosevic goes on the warpath again. Our job is to win these elections through our campaign and then defend our ballots on the streets," AP reported. PM

    [15] BULATOVIC: MILOSEVIC MAY REMAIN YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT EVEN IF HE LOSES

    Yugoslav Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic said in Podgorica on 21 September that Milosevic was elected Yugoslav president in 1997 for a four-year term and can stay in office until mid-2001 even if he loses the 24 September vote. He stressed that the four-year term "cannot be cut short," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM

    [16] PAVKOVIC: YUGOSLAV ARMY READY TO DEFEND COUNTRY

    General Nebojsa Pavkovic, who heads the General Staff, told Montenegrin Television that the army is prepared to face any "foreign intervention, " AP reported on 21 September. "As a serious army, we have to be ready to prevent any surprises," Pavkovic said. "If someone intervenes, there won't be peace." The general suggested that an opposition victory would mean subordination to the West, adding that the military will "defend the country's freedom.... A country cannot be free if it is colonialized and enslaved." In Belgrade, Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj accused Milosevic and his wife, Mira Markovic, of politicizing the army, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM

    [17] ALBRIGHT WARNS YUGOSLAV LEADERS

    Speaking in Washington on 21 September, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said: "I think that Milosevic is going to do everything he can to steal the election. I really think that.... We will not accept an election where victory is declared on the basis of manipulation or premature declarations of victory, and we are going to monitor it very carefully," Reuters reported. PM

    [18] MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT SAYS MILOSEVIC WILL NOT LEAVE QUIETLY...

    Milo Djukanovic said in Podgorica on 21 September that he expects that Milosevic will declare a victory even if he loses. Djukanovic added that Milosevic will use force to stay in office if he deems that force is the only way for him to remain in power. The Montenegrin president told AP: "I don't expect Milosevic will ever concede to losing the ballot." PM

    [19] ...AND GENERAL CLARK ENDORSES THAT VIEWPOINT

    Speaking in Prague on 21 September, General Wesley Clark, who commanded NATO forces during the 1999 Kosova campaign, said he expects Milosevic to try to rig the election. The general added that Milosevic's eventual departure from office is likely to be a violent one, as was the case with the fall of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989. Clark stressed that peace and stability in the Balkans require the replacement of Milosevic and the top Yugoslav military leadership, an RFE/RL correspondent reported. The general noted that it is likely that Milosevic may try to unleash violence in Montenegro. Clark added that "were I in Milosevic's position...I would not exclude international intervention," although the general pointed out that Montenegro is an internal part of Yugoslavia and not an independent state such as Bosnia. William L. Nash, who is the UN's chief administrator in Mitrovica, said in Prague that authorities in countries bordering Montenegro and Serbia should now "prepare [to receive] refugees." PM

    [20] CROATIAN PRESIDENT TELLS ARMY TO BE READY

    Stipe Mesic told top officers at a regular meeting in Zagreb on 21 September that "Serbia is a European and a global problem, and we have to be prepared for all possibilities because Milosevic has not given up the idea of a Greater Serbia," Reuters reported. "As we all know, Yugoslavia is a destructive factor in this region," Mesic added. He noted that Croatia will, if necessary, coordinate any measures to defend its frontiers with "our allies." Croatian and U.S. forces will hold joint exercises in the Adriatic soon under NATO's Partnership for Peace program. Zagreb has denied any link between the timing of the exercises and the holding of the Yugoslav elections. PM

    [21] MONTENEGRIN PRIME MINISTER HAILS KOSTUNICA OFFER ON ELECTIONS

    Filip Vujanovic said in Podgorica on 21 September that Vojislav Kostunica, who is the Serbian opposition's candidate for the federal presidency, has "everything he needs to win" against Milosevic, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Vujanovic added that he endorses Kostunica's recent statement that if the opposition wins, new federal elections may be held on a "basis of equality" between Serbia and Montenegro. PM

    [22] MILOSEVIC BACKER KILLS MONTENEGRIN POLICEMAN

    A supporter of Milosevic shot and killed an off-duty policeman in a Podgorica restaurant on 21 September after the two quarreled, Reuters reported. PM

    [23] BOSNIAN SERB LEADER TELLS MILOSEVIC TO GO

    In an open letter to Milosevic on 21 September, Republika Srpska Prime Minister Milorad Dodik said that "it's time for you to go [because] your people don't want you any more and force doesn't help," AP reported. Dodik added: "Has anybody told you that communism has collapsed? Do you know that the Russians have better relations with the Americans than you [have] with the Russians?.... Your interests and the Serbs' interests part here. You go left. Let the Serbs go straight." The Bosnian Serb leader blasted Milosevic for isolating and discrediting his people like no other leader in Serbian history. In Milosevic's Serbia, Dodik charged, old people "rather die than live, and the young rather emigrate than put up with you. In your Serbia people look for escape in alcohol, apathy, or silence." PM

    [24] MACEDONIAN ELECTION CAMPAIGNING ENDS

    Campaigning has ended in Macedonia in the runup to the second round of local and municipal elections, slated for 24 September, MIC news agency reported from Skopje on 21 September (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 September 2000). The governing coalition did better than expected in the first round two weeks earlier and refused to call early general elections, as the opposition has demanded. As a compromise, Arben Xhaferri, who heads the ethnic Albanian party in the governing coalition, has suggested that general elections be held soon in ethnic Albanian areas of Macedonia. PM

    [25] NASH SAYS ECONOMIC ACTIVITY KEY TO KOSOVA PEACE

    The UN's chief administrator in Mitrovica said in Prague on 21 September that it is important that more and more Serbs return to the southern areas of Kosova if the province is not to face de facto partition along ethnic lines. Nash noted, however, that an increasing number of ethnic Albanians live in northern Mitrovica and some Serbs live in the southern part of town. He stressed that he can get "an agreement at any time" between Serbs and Albanians to establish a joint "economic enterprise...ranging from a bakery to a cement factory." Both sides insist only on equal employment opportunities and a "neutral" management. Nash said to start up such businesses and create jobs, he needs investments and expertise from outside. PM

    [26] DEMOCRATIC PARTY ALSO CRITICIZES ROMANIAN PREMIER

    Democratic Party Deputy Chairman Bogdan Niculescu-Duvaz has joined the National Liberal Party in criticizing Prime Minister Mugur Isarescu (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 September 2000) for allegedly abandoning his independent stance and acting to serve the interests of the National Peasant Party Christian Democratic. One day earlier, Isarescu stripped Transportation Minister Anca Boagiu of the Democratic Party of the right to sign documents on agreements with the World Bank. Niculescu- Duvaz said the Democrats would have withdrawn from the ruling coalition and brought about the cabinet's dismissal if there were no legislation prohibiting the government's ouster in the six months before parliamentary elections, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. MS

    [27] CZECH FOREIGN MINISTER IN ROMANIA

    Jan Kavan on 21 September met with Isarescu, President Emil Constantinescu, and Foreign Minister Petre Roman to discuss bilateral relations and the enlargement of NATO and the EU, CTK and Romanian media reported. Kavan said Czech investors continue to be interested in the Romanian privatization process. He also said he has "full confidence" in the Romanian authorities' investigation into the murder of Tepro Trade union leader Virgil Sahleanu. Kavan said there is "no evidence" that two Czech nationals were involved in the murder but "Prague will respect any decision by a Romanian court." On 21 September, Tepro employees called on Constantinescu, Isarescu, and the parliament to investigate the legality of the sale of Tepro to the Czech Zelezarny Veseli company. MS

    [28] ROMANIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY WITHDRAWS COURT APPEAL

    The Defense Ministry on 21 September said it is withdrawing an appeal against the Supreme Court sentence obliging the ministry to pay damages to the victims of the December 1989 uprising in Timisoara because of the army's involvement in the attempt to quash the anti-communist revolt, Mediafax reported. In February, the court had sentenced Generals Victor Athanasie Stanculescu and Mihai Chitac to 15 years in prison for their role. Chitac has been recently released from jail to undergo prostate cancer treatment. Stanculescu has been a fugitive since his sentencing. MS

    [29] MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION BILL IN FIRST READING

    The parliament on 21 September approved in the first reading the law on the election of the president, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. The final reading of the bill is take place on 22 September. Under the draft law, each presidential candidate must be endorsed by at least 15 deputies. Candidates must be Moldovan citizens aged 40 or over, must be able to speak the "state language," and must have resided in Moldova for at least 10 years. To be elected, a candidate must garner the support of three-fifths of deputies. A run-off will be held among the two best-placed candidates. If neither gains a three-fifths majority, a third round is to take place within 15 days. In the event of the failure to elect a president on the third attempt, the parliament is to be dissolved and new parliamentary elections held. MS

    [30] BULGARIA CLOSES INVESTIGATION INTO MARKOV'S MURDER

    Prosecutor Nestor Nestorov said on 21 September that the investigation into the 1978 assassination of dissident Georgi Markov has been closed, AFP reported. Markov died after being jabbed by an umbrella belonging to a passerby at a bus stop in London. The British authorities concluded he died from poisoning, after finding a pinhead-capsule of lethal substance in his leg. In 1990. a double agent who worked for both the Russian KGB and the British said the murder was carried out by the Bulgarian communist secret services with the help of the KGB. Oleg Kalugin, former KGB head, confirmed this had been the case. Nestorov said the investigation was being closed because "it happened more than 20 years ago." MS

    [31] OLYMPIC MEDAL COUNT--PART 2 COUNTRIES

    Through 20 SEPTEMBER CountryGoldSilverBronzeTotal Romania52411 Ukraine26311 Belarus0167 Slovakia1315 Bulgaria3104 Poland2204 Hungary2114 Czech Rep.1034 Estonia0022 Croatia1001 Lithuania1001 Yugoslavia0101 Moldova0101 Latvia0011 Albania0000 Bosnia-Herzeg.0000 Macedonia0000 Slovenia0000

    [C] END NOTE

    [32] NO EASY SOLUTION IN SERBIA

    By Patrick Moore

    Those who think that the defeat of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic will pave the way for Serbia's quickly becoming a "normal" country should think again. Given the anti-Americanism prevalent among leading oppositionists, Washington especially should be aware of what the future is likely to hold.

    Anticipation of change in Serbia is in the air in many Western capitals. The EU foreign ministers recently met in Brussels and promised to end sanctions against Belgrade once Milosevic is out. France's Hubert Vedrine patronizingly proclaimed that "one must never forget that the Serbs are Europeans."

    This comes in the wake of increased political attention being paid to Serbia by several West European countries. Norway promised more aid to help repair the communist-era, rust-bucket infrastructure made worse by 10 years of neglect. Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou went to Serbia itself on a mission, the purpose and results of which remain a matter of debate. Among the messages he carried, in any event, is that Serbia is welcome at the European table once it acquires a more respectable leadership.

    Nor is the U.S. by any means idle. The "Washington Post" reported on 19 September that the U.S. is promoting the democratization of Serbia through a $77 million program. Most of the money goes to NGOs and other low-key civil society programs and not to support any specific candidate or party. The effort is long-term and modeled on similar programs that Washington has funded elsewhere to promote transitions from dictatorship to democracy.

    One wonders, however, what the various donors' expectations are. The most important point is that, whatever the outcome, there will be no political about-face in Serbia as there was in Croatia at the start of the year. Croatia is historically a relatively open country with a high rate of emigration and return. Many people knew what was wrong with the previous regime and what Croatia had to do to enter Euro- Atlantic structures. They acted accordingly.

    Serbian political culture, by contrast, is insular and narcissistic. It is very heavily into blame and denial. None of the leading opposition figures argues that the Serbian body politic should re-examine its values, attitudes, and relations with its neighbors. Instead, the opposition leaders agree that the regime is partly to blame for Serbia's problems, as are many foreigners, especially the Americans.

    Many speeches by Vojislav Kostunica in recent weeks show that his orientation is nationalistic and anti-Western. According to Kostunica, Milosevic is bad not because he destroyed the former Yugoslavia and brutalized Bosnia or Kosova but because he lost the conflicts he started and thus opened the way for foreign troops to come into the region.

    This, in turn, underscores another difference between Croatia and Serbia. Croatia paid lip service to Euro- Atlanticism, even under the late President Franjo Tudjman, and embraced it with open arms under the new administration of President Stipe Mesic and Prime Minister Ivica Racan.

    Among Serbian opposition figures, however, anti- Americanism tends to be open and blatant. Like the regime, they often blame "NATO aggression" for many problems that are really of Serbia's own making. The opposition says it wants to rejoin Europe (many European countries belong to NATO), but closer examination reveals a lack of clarity as to what the opposition means by that. One suspects that what they really hope for is a return to the trade, travel, and subsidies of the 1970s. At a recent conference in Munich, one German diplomat summed up the apparent intellectual confusion among many in the Serbian opposition as "difficulty in coming to grips with modernity." In any event, a commitment to democracy, tolerance, and respect for one's neighbors seems lacking.

    Exactly what the West might be letting itself in for by giving the opposition carte blanche was indicated by "Jane's Intelligence Digest" this week in an article on the shifting alliance patterns among Serbian parties. The main thrust of the article is that the Serbian Renewal Movement's Vuk Draskovic is moving back to an open alliance with Milosevic-- which many observers suspect has existed in practice all along--while the "democratic opposition" around Zoran Djindjic is cozying up to the Radicals' Vojislav Seselj, whom many suspect is on The Hague's secret list of indicted war criminals.

    It is such problems that primarily the EU will have to deal with should the opposition win the elections and Milosevic somehow be sent packing. If Washington does not want to give the blame-and-denial crew in Belgrade any new excuse to blame the U.S. for its problems, it will let Brussels lead the way. Such an approach will enable the EU to prove whether it is finally able to formulate and carry out a coherent policy vis-a-vis a pressing problem in its own backyard without waiting for the U.S. to offer a solution, as it did in Bosnia and Kosova.

    22-09-00


    Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
    URL: http://www.rferl.org


    Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next Article
    Back to Top
    Copyright © 1995-2023 HR-Net (Hellenic Resources Network). An HRI Project.
    All Rights Reserved.

    HTML by the HR-Net Group / Hellenic Resources Institute, Inc.
    rferl2html v1.01 run on Friday, 22 September 2000 - 15:33:09 UTC