Posted on 10/14/2002 1:52:02 PM PDT by Whitebread
Kostunica Vows to Bring Down Serbia
By DUSAN STOJANOVIC
14:15 ET
AP Online
Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) - Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica vowed Monday to bring down Serbia's pro-Western government, a day after he failed to be elected president of the republic because of a voter boycott.
Kostunica, a moderate nationalist, won 67 percent of the vote in Sunday's election, more than twice as much as Miroljub Labus, a pro-Western deputy prime minister and an ally of Kostunica's main rival, Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic.
But the runoff election failed because turnout was 45.5 percent, falling short of the required 50 percent. Serbs will now have to vote again by Dec. 5, and the new election will be open to all candidates, including ultranationalist allies of former President Slobodan Milosevic, who is now on trial for war crimes.
Kostunica accused Djindjic of leading a "quiet boycott" of the elections "in order to stay in power."
During the elections, Kostunica vowed to topple Djindjic's government by calling new parliamentary elections next year if he becomes the Serbian president.
Constant bickering between Kostunica and Djindjic since they jointly ousted Milosevic in 2000 has slowed the pace of change in Serbia, impoverished by more than a decade of the former autocrat's rule.
"I want to see the end of Djindjic's regime," Kostunica said. "The political crisis has deepened."
Djindjic's Democratic Party responded by saying Kostunica should resign as Yugoslav president because he failed to be elected in the dominant Yugoslav republic.
"Kostunica campaigned by declaring that the elections will represent a popular referendum on the fate of the Serbian government and Djindjic," the party said. "Since the referendum failed, if Kostunica has morals, he would resign."
Djindjic, as prime minister, has more power than Kostunica. But Kostunica is far more popular because of his nationalist views, and his party is likely to get more votes in the eventual Serbian parliamentary elections that are likely to be held early next year. With a majority in the parliament, Kostunica's deputies can vote Djindjic's government out of power.
Zoran Stojiljkovic, a political analyst, said Djindjic stood to lose the current power struggle.
"Djindjic cannot remain in his post under any circumstance," Stojiljkovic said.
A repeat of the presidential election will give another chance at the presidency to Vojislav Seselj, an ultranationalist leader who had Milosevic's backing in the first round of voting on Sept. 29. Seselj finished third in that round and called for a boycott of the second.
On Monday, Seselj declared he felt like "a winner" because the elections failed. He vowed to hold talks with other Milosevic allies on a joint candidate for the next presidential vote.
Kostunica said that before another vote is held, new election laws should be adopted. International observers monitoring Sunday's vote agreed.
The monitors, from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, suggested that the 50-percent turnout requirement should be dropped before the next vote.
"This boycott is not understandable," said Hrair Balian, a spokesman for the OSCE monitors. "The boycott was totally self-defeating for Serbia because it produced uncertainty. Serbia does not need uncertainty - it needs reforms."
Elsewhere in Europe, voter turnout in elections this year was greater, including Sweden's 79 percent and Latvia's 73 percent. Bosnia's election had 55-percent turnout.
In the United States, voter turnout in the 2000 presidential election was approximately 51 percent.
The law mandating at least 50-percent voter turnout was imposed by Milosevic in 1997 as a way to manipulate election results and invalidate a possible victory by one of his political opponents who was seeking office at the time. The law was never repealed. Serbs had plenty of reasons to boycott the vote: Many had hoped for a faster improvement in living standards after Milosevic.
Although average salaries have gone up, they have barely kept pace with soaring prices, despite the relative stability of the national currency, the dinar. Unemployment stands at a staggering 40 percent.
been visiting the IWPR site again ? Please try a dose of fact base reality for once rather than HumWarrior agit-prop.......
reality is that SPS never got a majority of the votes in Serbia, the typical SPS percentage was on order of 40%........in election after election a majority of "the serbs" did NOT support the SPS
The SPS always governed in a coalition. At virtually any time during the 1990's, the SPS (and your bogeyman Milosevic) could have been kicked out of power simply by having the anti-SPS parties form a majority coalition.
The anti-SPS parties were too busy engaging in childish squabbles to ever get serious about governing.
The anti-SPS parties only got toegther after Albright read them the riot act in the Summer of 2000 and gave them 'suitcases of cash' estimated at $100mm. Albright's offer of serious loot focused their minds wonderfully.....
and now that Albright isn't sending suitcases of cash to the anti-SPS leaders they are back to their childish bickering...
.........which means that a SPS/SRS/Unity coalition is very likely to build a majority coalition in the next parliment............and the bickering DOS amatuers will return to their teaching jobs.
has there ever been a time in which you disagreed with the NPR/PBS POV ?
I thought most of the early Jewish settlements came from those poor souls kicked out of Spain, the Sephardim.
Had it not been for Serbs, Broz would have never made it more than a schlosser
The communist party had no official chapter in Serbia. Tito never even thought the Serbs would be anything other than an obstacle to a communist revolution.
Had it not been for the Nazis invading Yugoslavia, because the Serbs staged mass demostrations against a non-aggression pact between Yugoslavia and Germany, followed by a coup and annullment of the pact, Tito would have indeed remained in Zagreb, sharing office space next to Ustasha's HQ.
But once Germany attacked, the "stupid" Serbs fought back. Serbs were fed communist propaganda about being the chauvinist opressors, about enslaving other nations, everything to make one feel just awful being a Serb. The only "good" Serbs were those who hated other Serbs with more passion than non-Serbs could ever match.
At Bujan, Kosovo was not promised to Albania by the "Serbs," but by Serb communists. Serb communists have done everything to hurt their nation, and they had almost half a century to serve two extreme serbophobes: Tito and Kardelj. Slobo was the first real "aberration," among Serb communists in that he was more a Serb than a communist.
The entire history of Yugoslavia, since the Serbs helped Tito establish a more "equitable" and "just" union not dominated by Serbs, the country has been slowly moving towards diminishing everything Serbian. The Serbian people had no input. The Serbs did not produce the 1974 constitution either. Serb communists were passive lackeys, nothing more. So, to say it was all the "Serbs'" fault it's like blaming the Jews for everything.
I am sorry that you see it that way Tamodaleko. It is somewhat disappointing, but that's your opinion.
I think Djindjich will dance the way he is told to. So if that means going along with the reform of the 50% rule, he will agree.
Tamodaleko, if you don't want me to speak my mind I will never, ever, respond to your posts. Is that what you want? I am not telling you to stop. You have your opinion, and I find it disappointing that you can blame one factor for everything, that's your right. Mine is not to change your mind, but to appeal to your reason.
If I disagree with you, with Hoplite, with Tropoljac, whoever, it's not personal and it's an honest disagreement, in good faith. If you want a Yes-Forum, I guess this is not it.
Why?
Whoever is in charge in Belgrade is going to be seen as dancing, Kosta - that's the way the nationalists (er, more nationalist than whoever is in charge) will paint it. Kostunica is merely doing to Djindjic what Seselj is going to do to Kostunica as soon as he gathers the reigns of power and has to start dealing with Western pressure.
What I am saying is that Seselj will continue to act the part of the hyena and bite at the heels of whoever is in charge, using the nationalist platform.
As far as I could see, that bridge had absolutely no military strategic value whatsoever. In fact, by bombing that bridge and declaring it a military target, NATO was either claiming that Croatia would permit FRY forces to transit Croatia (from where to where, hello?) to slaughter "poor KLA" or they were concerned FRY forces would invade Croatia over that bridge at Ilok (another hello? hello? Earth to Jamie!). Both are totally insane propositions, of course. Just wondered what your thoughts were.
I know I may be a bit sentimental about this bridge, but I simply cannot see any military strategic importance, unless on is a madman. I'm curious what the Croat perspective is. Thanks in advance for your reply.
[Note to others not familiar with the geography: this bridge spanned the Danube between Serbia and Croatia. In fact, it was the was the last remaining bridge over the Danube between the two countries and a vital trade link.]
I understand what you are saying. I also think that once in power every politician moderates to some extent, or at least takes any stance that will keep him in power.
The aim is to stay in power, whatever it takes. For that reason, I think even Sheshel would moderate his "rabid nationalism" to assure he stays in power.
However, the more extreme the situation is the more extreme the politicians will be. I think Sheshel won the 1997 annulled elections simply because the electorate was willing to change the regime, so even Sheshel (more extreme than Miloshevich) became the choice. One more reason to keep Koshtunitsa around.
The late nineteenth century. And he wasn't just nominated, he went all the way to the top. Well, technically Queen Victoria outranked Disraeli, but the PM actually runs things.
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