A rchive Date
[ 09-10-2000 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Yugoslavia ]
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[Milosevic still a threat to Serbia
By BOB MACDONALD - Toronto Sun
October 8, 2000
Congratulations to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the United Nations for persisting in the tough job of toppling Serb boss Slobodan Milosevic, a wanted war criminal.
But even now, both NATO and the UN must be alert to a "last-last" ditch effort of old communist Milosevic and his gang to undermine newly elected Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica, an anti-communist academic.
It took more than a year for the effects of the 78-day NATO air attacks and the UN-sponsored economic sanctions against Serbia to finally turn the Serb people against Milosevic. They voted him out of office. And when he tried once more to rig and nullify the vote, the Serb people - led by a tough crowd from a provincial mining town - marched on the Parliament buildings and main state-run TV station in Belgrade. They defied Milosevic's police, stormed the buildings and set them on fire.
Suddenly, Milosevic's police, media propaganda machine and the armed forces started coming over to Kostunica's opposition coalition.
The next day, Milosevic, after hiding out in a bunker-like residence with his Marxist wife, Mirjana Markovic, met with the Russian ambassador and then conceded his defeat in a TV speech. Russia and communist China have been the Milosevic regime's strongest supporters.
Western leaders such as Bill Clinton, Tony Blair and Jean Chretien happily announced that the blood-soaked Milosevic had been given the boot. They said sanctions would soon be lifted and aid to rebuild Serbia would flow. This was the end of the guy who had caused and lost four genocidal-type wars since 1991 in his quest to create Greater Serbia.
The Serb forces - despite having huge armaments superiority with tanks, artillery, mortars and machine guns of the Yugoslav federation - first were pushed out in 10 days by the independence-declaring Slovenians. But Milosevic's wars caused 20,000 deaths in Croatia, 250,000 in Bosnia-Hercegovina, and several thousand in Kosovo.
The horror stories of his forces inflicting genocidal slaughter against non-Serbs, along with mass rapes, tortures and house burnings, resulted in war-crime charges against Milosevic and many of his top officials. They are still on the wanted list of the international court in The Hague.
And two days ago, chief war-crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte declared: "I expect to come up very soon with indictments against Milosevic about genocide in Bosnia and Croatia." It all sounds encouraging. Except that Kostunica says he won't extradite Milosevic to face war crimes - and Milosevic says he will hang around to lead his Socialist party in opposition.
Not only that, but Milan Milutinovic, president of the Serb republic, is a close comrade of Milosevic and has direct control of that state's 100,000-strong police force. Yep, he's also wanted for war crimes.
Zoran Djindjic, head of the Democratic Party, claims Milosevic is "preparing positions for a stab in the back (of Kostunica) by consolidating the police and creating chaos."
But President Kostunica, who will need all the help he can get to clean up Yugoslavia's corrupt political system, put it simply and directly after being sworn in yesterday: "We lived in a system without democracy. It exists now."
So, at least the remaining Yugoslav republics of Serbia and Montenegro now have a fighting chance to become free and democratic. But, with the scheming Milosevic and his gang still hanging around, the dangers are still great.
As for the UN, NATO and the European community, they should push strongly for the extradition of Milosevic. But, if that doesn't happen, they must be very watchful and careful about lifting trade sanctions and giving aid.
Belgrade student Miroslav Jankovic put it this way during the overthrow celebrations: "Milosevic and his wife should hang. Only then will we be certain they won't torment us again."
Read Bob MacDonald every Sunday. Reach him at bob.macdonald@tor.sunpub.com or 416-947-2236.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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