Clinton Praises Yugoslav Victory
Governments from Moscow to Washington affirmed the defeat of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic by Vojislav Kostunica in the recent elections.
For his part, Milosevic has given up the fight to stay in power. And the West has pledged to reward the popular uprising against Milosevic with aid and an end to sanctions.
"It is not just the end of dictatorship in Belgrade," said President Clinton. "In a real sense it is the end of the war Mr. Milosevic started in the former Yugoslavia 10 years ago.
"Democracy has reclaimed every piece of ground he took," he said. "The greatest remaining obstacle to the long-held dream of a peaceful, undivided Europe for the first time in history is now removed."
He said the United States and its allies would not retreat from the Balkans in complacency.
"Now is the time to stay the course and stick with people who have won their freedom," he said.
Mr. Clinton said a dark cloud has been lifted and that the developments in Serbia were historic and "an extraordinary victory for the people of the former Yugoslavia, who endured oppression and deprivation, who saw through the propaganda, who took their country back with nothing but courage, principle and patriotism. They will now define the shape of their future.
"They have said they want to live in a normal country, at peace with its neighbors and a part of the world," Mr. Clinton said. "The rest of us will welcome them."
The president praised the newly-elected president, Vojislav Kostunica, for his integrity and leadership.
"I do consider him the president," Mr. Clinton said before the Yugoslav high court affirmed Kostunica as the new leader.
"As Yugoslavia's new leaders work to build a truly democratic society, we will move with our European allies to lift sanctions and bring them out of isolation," the president said.
Milosevic has congratulated Kostunica and said he plans to rest for awhile and then return to politics.
But the U.S. sees no political role in Yugoslavia for Milosevic. National Security Adviser Sandy Berger said "This is something we cannot support.
"He is still an indicted war criminal and has to be accountable, we believe, for his actions," Berger said in an interview.
Britain, a main player with the United States in NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia last year, also said Milosevic's time was up.
"Milosevic has done enough damage for one man in one country: three wars, tens of thousands dead, millions displaced, acts of barbarism not seen in Europe since the Second World War," Prime Minister Tony Blair said on a visit to Poland. "The sooner he is gone the better for Serbia, for Europe and for the whole world. So let us hope that that is done quickly."
When Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov went to congratulate Kostunica, he handed him a message from Russian President Vladimir Putin that said he hoped the new leader wouldo everything he could to overcome the country's political crisis.
"I hope that you as the leader of the democratic forces in Yugoslavia, having assumed responsibility for the future of the fraternal Yugoslav people, will be able to do everything possible to overcome the internal political crisis," said Putin's message, released by the Kremlin.
The European Union said their sanctions — including an oil embargo, financial restrictions and a flight ban — could be lifted as soon as Monday at a foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg.
French President Jacques Chirac said the lifting of sanctions against Yugoslavia would "accompany the return to democracy."
In Geneva, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson expressed delight at developments in Belgrade and said human rights violations should be punished. A United Nations tribunal has indicted Milosevic for war crimes.
But the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal's chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte told a news conference in the Kosovo capital Pristina that Kostunica should hand him over. Kostunica has said he opposes Milosevic being tried internationally.