Tension Rises in Yugoslavia as Milosevic Clings to Power
October 5, 2000 - 0:0
TEHRAN The crisis gripping Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's embattled regime deepened Wednesday with the start of round-the-clock nationwide protests to dislodge him.
Opposition forces vowed to ramp up the massive demonstrations from 12 hours Tuesday to unlimited action to force Milosevic to accept outright defeat in September 24 elections.
The Milosevic regime lashed back Tuesday, arresting some organizers, issuing warrants for 13 others and warning opposition supporters that it would act decisively to uphold order, AFP said.
"Any attempt at subversive activity that threatens the citizens' personal and material security must be prevented in accordance with the law," said a statement quoted by state television.
But new cracks appeared in Milesovic's support base as reporters in the tightly-controlled Serbian state television RTS and pro-government Politika newspaper demanded unbiased coverage of the crisis.
Official results showed Milosevic trailed his challenger Vojislav Kostunica by 38.62 percent to 48.96 percent in the presidential elections, forcing a run-off election between the two on Sunday as neither won more than 50 percent.
But the opposition, backed almost unanimously by Western governments, says Kostunica, a 56-year-old lawyer, won the first-round contest outright and is promising to boycott any run-off.
Meanwhile, DPA quoted the United Nations human rights envoy to the former Yugoslavia as telling the British Broadcasting Corporation on Wednesday that Slobodan Milosevic should be guaranteed immunity from prosecution for war crimes if that ensured he left power.
In an interview with the BBC, Jiri Dienstbier acknowledged this might not be the most moral solution, but said it would be preferable to ignoring the interests of the Serb population as a whole.
Asked whether Milosevic had anything to gain from going to Moscow for negotiations brokered by Russia, Dienstbier said: "I have no idea what can be solved by such a meeting in Moscow.
"The only possible deal, and the most important thing for Mr Milosevic, is to have guarantees that if he leaves power he will not be persecuted and will not spend the rest of his life somewhere in prison."
Opposition forces vowed to ramp up the massive demonstrations from 12 hours Tuesday to unlimited action to force Milosevic to accept outright defeat in September 24 elections.
The Milosevic regime lashed back Tuesday, arresting some organizers, issuing warrants for 13 others and warning opposition supporters that it would act decisively to uphold order, AFP said.
"Any attempt at subversive activity that threatens the citizens' personal and material security must be prevented in accordance with the law," said a statement quoted by state television.
But new cracks appeared in Milesovic's support base as reporters in the tightly-controlled Serbian state television RTS and pro-government Politika newspaper demanded unbiased coverage of the crisis.
Official results showed Milosevic trailed his challenger Vojislav Kostunica by 38.62 percent to 48.96 percent in the presidential elections, forcing a run-off election between the two on Sunday as neither won more than 50 percent.
But the opposition, backed almost unanimously by Western governments, says Kostunica, a 56-year-old lawyer, won the first-round contest outright and is promising to boycott any run-off.
Meanwhile, DPA quoted the United Nations human rights envoy to the former Yugoslavia as telling the British Broadcasting Corporation on Wednesday that Slobodan Milosevic should be guaranteed immunity from prosecution for war crimes if that ensured he left power.
In an interview with the BBC, Jiri Dienstbier acknowledged this might not be the most moral solution, but said it would be preferable to ignoring the interests of the Serb population as a whole.
Asked whether Milosevic had anything to gain from going to Moscow for negotiations brokered by Russia, Dienstbier said: "I have no idea what can be solved by such a meeting in Moscow.
"The only possible deal, and the most important thing for Mr Milosevic, is to have guarantees that if he leaves power he will not be persecuted and will not spend the rest of his life somewhere in prison."