YUGOSLAVIA: Waiting, Protesting Opposition Plans Next Move

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic Reprint | | Print |

Vesna Peric-Zimonjic

BELGRADE, Dec 23 1996 (IPS) - Confident the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will endorse its claims of widespread electoral fraud, Serbia’s opposition leaders are looking ahead to the next stage of their battle against president Slobadan Milosevic.

Unconfirmed reports say an OSCE fact-finding team, led by former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez, will demand recognition of the election results. An American member of the team, veteran diplomat Max Kampelman, said it had found “impressive” evidence of election fraud.

After meeting the OSCE delegation, Vuk Draskovic, one of the leaders of the opposition group Zajedno — the others are Zoran Djindjic and Vesna Pesic — said once the results of the November elections were recognised, the opposition would shift focus to other concerns.

“We are ready to start a dialogue concerning the media, the position of the political parties, and the electoral system in Serbia,” said Draskovic. “We would like to have a round table, the conclusions of which must be accepted by all political parties, and must be respected.”

Participation by the European Union and the United States would be requested for this process.

The OSCE mission was invited to Belgrade by Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic after weeks of protests against the annulment by the courts of victories scored by Opposition candidates in municipal elections held in several of Serbia’s biggest cities and towns.

Gonzalez told a news conference here that the delegation would issue its report within one week.

One source told IPS that Gonzalez wanted to “go beyond this electoral dispute to bring about the democratic transformation”of the rump Yugoslavia. The source said Gonzalez saw the OSCe becoming the point of reference around which the struggle for democracy could revolve.

Leaders of Zajedno (Together) reiterated that the election results should be confirmed before any dialogue could begin with the authorities. Zajedno leaders had presented the OSCE mission with “all proof, including written statements by polling stations.”

Speaking late Saturday, Gonzalez said the OSCE envoys had collected a large amount of information on what he called “an electoral problem” and that he would present a report to OSCE chief Flavio Cotti.

“When we arrived here, we had the impression that there was an electoral problem and this impression has been confirmed,” he said. “An effort is necessary to resolve this problem.” Belgrade authorities, political parties and others had “shown a positive attitude” during the visit, he said but declined to comment on the ongoing protests.

The court annulment of election results in 15 out of the 18 biggest towns in Serbia, including Belgrade, provoked the mass daily protests. Sometimes up to 200,000 people have taken to the streets of the capital. Zajedno won the Nov. 17 local elections in those towns but legal procedures undermined the victories.

An OSCE statement released after the visit said arising out of the meetings with the various interest groups, the OSCE delegation obtained a wide range of information and documentation about the elections.

Additionally, the OSCE delegation was informed about other issues including the situation in the media, electoral laws, judicial proceedings, minorities and possibilities for the dialogue between the Government and Opposition”, the statement added.

After meeting the delegation, Djindjic told journalists: “The differences between the original results and the unprecedented court interventions are clear to all OSCE commission members. The only question is how to reinstate the original election results and resolve the crisis.”

Draskovic commented that “the OSCE were shocked when we showed them the clean-cut decision of the Belgrade election commission when they proclaimed 60 seats for Zajedno.” The commission’s ruling gave the opposition its clear majority in the 110-seat city council.

Opposition sources say Milosevic could order fresh local elections within a month in an attempt to regain control of the lost towns. Many of these were industrial centres where workers had turned their backs to the Socialist (SPS) party.

Milosevic is expected to come under heavy pressure to allow international monitoring of new elections and give the opposition access to the state-controlled media.

“Nothing in Serbia will ever be the same after November 17 and weeks of protests in the streets,” says Ivan Stambolic, former Serbian leader ousted by Milosevic in 1987. “The loyalty to the regime has gone away and people have waken up from many years of false promises and bad dreams.”

“The fear (of the regime) has gone and people feel free to express what they want,” Dejan Djordjevic, an independent journalist said. “The monolith of SPS rule has been cracking for weeks now and the new feeling of change is in sight.”

Although opposition rallies have been peaceful, the risk of confrontation has risen since SPS began organising counter- protests against the opposition, in favour of Milosevic.

The rallies in Serbian provincial towns intensified with the arrival the OSCE mission. They are usually held under the slogan “a foreign hand will not rule Serbia”.

Carrying banners “You are traitors”, “Servants of the West”, “We don’t need America and Germany and their servants”, and brandishing photos of Milosevic, the SPS rallies are generously reported by state-run TV, although they gather not more than two to three thousand people.

Diplomats fear mounting hatred and the proximity of two rival protest groups could easily spark violence.

Meantime, Momir Bulatovic, president of tiny Serbian ally of Montenegro, which together comprise Federal Republic of Yugoslavia told the French daily Le Figaro: “Stealing votes cannot occur without consequences. It is natural that fixing an election would trigger demonstrations.”

“The opposition and the students have the absolute right to express their opinions. I am sorry that the authorities and the opposition did not find a way to settle this crisis from the very start”, Bulatovic said, adding that he had personally asked Milosevic to resolve the crisis as soon as possible.