[ALBSA-Info] Milosevic to Seek Reelection in Yugoslavia

[Gazhebo at aol.com]

Milosevic to Seek Reelection in Yugoslavia

By Julijana Mojsilovic
 
BELGRADE, July 28 (Reuters) - Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic stepped 
forward on Friday to stand for re-election in September, as an opinion poll 
suggested he could face defeat if the country's fractious opposition parties 
were able to unite. 

U.S. President Bill Clinton and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, 
meanwhile, promised to help Serbia's democratic opposition join forces 
against the man they called Europe's ``last aggressive dictator.'' 

The European Union added its voice in support of Serbia's opposition, urging 
it to unite against Milosevic. Yugoslavia protested to an EU troika over the 
bloc's statements accusing Milosevic of manoeuvring to hold on to power. 

In Madrid, NATO Secretary-General George Robertson said he hoped the 
elections would give Yugoslavs a chance to end Milosevic's rule, but they 
appeared rigged in advance. 

Milosevic on Thursday set presidential, parliamentary and local elections for 
September 24 in an apparent bid to prolong his rule in the Balkan country for 
years to come. 

The announcement followed approval by the Yugoslav federal parliament of 
legislation to implement constitutional changes allowing Milosevic to win a 
new period in office through a direct vote. 

In a statement on Friday, the ruling Socialist Party said its main board had 
``established the candidacy of President Slobodan Milosevic for the Yugoslav 
presidential elections.'' 

Montenegrin Justice Minister Dragan Soc, a member of the ruling coalition's 
People's Party, confirmed on Friday that Montenegro would not take part in 
the federal elections. 

``ELECTIONS ILLEGITIMATE'' 

``Our decision is not to participate in the elections... which are just as 
illegitimate as the constitutional amendments, and were voted by people who 
have no right to that,'' Soc told Montenegrin television. 

Its coalition partner, the Democratic Party of Socialists, also said on 
Friday ``the democratic forces in Montenegro will not take part in the 
dictator's game, because this is not a question of elections, but of the 
survival of the dictator.'' 

The head of Montenegro's Development Department, Dusan Simonovic, said the 
republic would not provide the central voters' list for the elections. ``I 
don't know what voters' lists will be used in Montenegro, but surely not 
ours,'' he said. 

``The elections in Montenegro will probably be organised in army barracks and 
offices of (the pro-Milosevic Socialist People's Party) SNP,'' he told a news 
conference. 

Serbia's fragmented opposition has sought to close ranks and vowed to join 
forces behind one candidate against Milosevic and to form joint lists for all 
elections. It has also said it will consult over the federal elections with 
Montenegro. 

The leadership of pro-Western Montenegro threatened to boycott the ballot. 
The republic is Serbia's  reluctant partner in the Yugoslav federation. 

An opinion poll published on Friday said the leader of the Democratic Party 
of Serbia (DSS), Vojislav Kostunica, could defeat Milosevic if he ran as 
joint opposition candidate. 

The survey, conducted by the Institute for Social Sciences between July 11 
and 15 among 1,328 respondents and published by non-government media, showed 
Kostunica would get 42 percent compared to 28 percent for Milosevic. 

Serbia's 15 opposition parties and groupings will meet in Belgrade on 
Saturday and then go to Montenegro next Wednesday for talks with its 
leadership. 

DRASKOVIC SAYS TO BOYCOTT FEDERAL VOTE 

Maverick Serb opposition leader Vuk Draskovic said his Serbian Renewal 
Movement (SPO), which holds power in many Serbian municipalities, would join 
Montenegro in its election boycott at federal level. 

But he said the SPO would probably run in local polls. 

In a joint article in the Paris-based International Herald Tribune newspaper, 
Clinton and Schroeder wrote: ``We will continue to work with the democratic 
opposition in Serbia, to help it unite around a common platform...and to back 
President Milo Djukanovic of Montenegro until all those who have suffered 
under Mr Milosevic's rule can take their place in Europe.'' 

The EU statement, issued by France on behalf of the bloc, followed the same 
line. ``The European Union reaffirms its support for and its confidence in 
the opposition and in civil society in Serbia and calls upon the opposition 
to unite to help bring about the indispensable change,'' it said. 

The Yugoslav Foreign Ministry handed a protest to the EU troika made up of 
representatives of Sweden, Belgium and the EU. 

It said Yugoslavia ``regards it as a flagrant violation of international 
norms and gross interference in the internal affairs of the FRY...'' 

It said Yugoslavia treated the statement as a hostile act, because it had 
described the elections as a ``manoeuvre by the Yugoslav president aimed at 
staying in power.''