Perspective of Yugoslavia

"As if (our) problems were not enough, we have to cope with the West's reluctance to give us a chance to build our institutions and establish the rule of law by allowing our judiciaries to implement national laws and to try war-crimes suspects." -Vojislav Kostunica

Although Vojislav Kostunica may hold the title of President of Yugoslavia, his control over his country's current situation is much looser then he would like. Not only does he have to deal with the United States' demands, but he also has to worry about his future in the Yugoslav political sphere. In the next presidential election for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Kostunica will most likely face Zoran Djindjic (current Prime Minister of Serbia) as his major opponent. This means that currently, Kostunica must concern himself with gaining votes from those citizens who were Milosevic supporters in the last election. These people are not likely to vote for Djindjic because he is such a strong advocate for Milosevics extradition to The Hague. Though Djindjic may have the most realistic view for his people (who are in dire need of the financial assistance) he does not appeal to the Yugoslavian people who backed the former president.

Serbian PM Zoran Djindjic on left, Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica on right

photo from: http://uk.fc.yahoo.com/001220/46/at1sd.html

The reality of the situation, however, is that the fate of Milosevic is not entirely in Kostunica's control. The decision to send the ex-president to The Hague will be made by the judiciary. Kostunica can say as much as he would like to dissuade them from sending Milosevic to the Netherlands but he will not be the final say in the decision making process. The other problem that Kostunica has to look at is that the country of Serbia is in serious debt, owing $18 million. This issue should really force Kostunica to look beyond his own political agenda and realize that his people need the money, desperately. Serbia's monetary situation also means that the United States really does have a hold on Kostunica whether he wants to admit it or not.

The most recent development took place on May 9, 2001 when President Kostunica made a visit to the White House to meet with President Bush, Secretary of State Powell and National Security Advisor, Dr. Rice. During this meeting, Kostunica made it clear that the Yugoslav Government is going to pass some sort of laws relating to The Hague Tribunal which will help to sketch guidelines for his nation's actions toward The Hague and hopefully please the United States as well.

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Kostunica Quote from Above: http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/05/09/us.yugoslavia.02.ap/index.html