[ALBSA-Info] NEWSMAKER-Kostunica rode tide of opposition to Milosevic

[Gazhebo at aol.com]

NEWSMAKER-Kostunica rode tide of opposition to Milosevic

By Julijana Mojsilovic

BELGRADE, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Yugoslav opposition leader Vojislav Kostunica 
rode a tide of discontent against Slobodan Milosevic to reach the brink of 
power in an impoverished, isolated police state. 

The former academic claimed overwhelming victory in September 24 elections 
for the Yugoslav presidency, and it was Milosevic's refusal to admit defeat 
that brought furious Serbs onto the streets to defy police, storm the 
parliament, cheer Kostunica and demand that Milosevic go. 

``Good evening, liberated Serbia,'' Kostunica told hundreds of thousands of 
people who gathered between the parliament building and Belgrade city hall on 
Thursday evening. 

``Serbia has hit the road of democracy and where there is democracy there is 
no place for Slobodan Milosevic,'' he said. 

The crowd chanted ``He's finished'' and ``Arrest Sloba.'' 

Amid a rebellion which by Thursday night had seen little bloodshed and even 
some panicky retreats by government police, Kostunica said the opposition 
would use non-violent methods and urged people to persevere to the end. 

``We will go with non-violence against their violence,'' he said. 

Kostunica mounted his challenge to Milosevic in the previous months by 
reconciling the seemingly irreconcilable -- Serb nationalism with a 
pro-European democratic stance, and each of Serbia's squabbling opposition 
leaders with the others. 

Ever careful to attack Western policy against Yugoslavia as well as 
Milosevic's bloodstained record, he left Milosevic's aggressive propaganda 
machine struggling to find ways to discredit him before the September 24 
vote. 

``He is supported by gays and lesbians, members of various non-government and 
feminist organisations. They know only too well that he is a fake Serbian 
traditionalist,'' is a taste of what the pro-government Politika daily 
resorted to on the eve of the elections. 

Kostunica was backed by 18 political parties and a trade union grouping. He 
managed to bring all Milosevic's squabbling foes together bar one, mainly 
because he had managed to avoid stepping on anyone's toes during 10 years 
political infighting. 

The odd man out, Vuk Draskovic, stayed in self-inflicted isolation in 
Montenegro after what he said were two attempts on his life and appeared to 
have ruled himself out of the political drama sweeping Serbia in recent 
weeks. 

Kostunica's campaign was strengthened by his reputation for never having done 
private political deals with Milosevic nor dabbled in the dubious business 
interests common among Yugoslav politicians. 

``I pledge to change this state of ours for the better in accordance with the 
laws of God and humankind, whereas I shall never let power change me,'' 
Kostunica said at the kick-off of his election campaign. 

PETS AND SOCCER 

Belgrade-born Kostunica, aged 56 and married with no children, keeps a low 
private profile. People close to him say he likes cats and dogs and supports 
Red Star Belgrade soccer team. 

He and his wife Zorica hold doctorates in law sciences and have a modest 
social life. 

A former assistant law professor, he is an expert in constitutional law and 
has published books on the subject. 

He was sacked in 1974 after opposing a new Yugoslav constitution. In 1989, he 
turned down an offer to return to the university. 

In 1989, he was one of the founders of the opposition Democratic Party. He 
left it in 1992 to form the Democratic Party of Serbia and continued his work 
in the field of human rights and civil liberties. 

Kostunica has promised to create a state in which all citizens, Serbs or 
others, enjoy equal status and civil rights. 

His nationalism, unlike Milosevic's, is seen as moderate and unthreatening to 
other nations in the region. His devotion to democracy is considered beyond 
serious doubt. 

``I would describe myself as a normal Serb,'' he once said. 

The Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS), an umbrella group which supports 
Kostunica, embraces large ethnic Hungarian and Muslim minorities. 

Speaking at the DOS convention he promised new, free elections within a year 
and a half and pledged to lead Serbia back towards Europe. 

He also promised Montenegro, Serbia's reluctant smaller partner in the 
Yugoslav federation, he would work to redefine relations between the two ``in 
line with the popular will in both republics.'' 

He has pledged to work towards ending Serbia's U.S.-backed isolation, but has 
been highly critical of U.S. policy towards Serbia, blasting Washington for 
opening an office in Budapest to help the Serb opposition. 

``Serbia and this unfortunate nation do not need any help coming from the 
White House,'' he has said.