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Slavija 23090101

Milosevic extradited, Kostunica shunned, is the end of Yugoslavia near?

On June 28, 2001 the former President of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic was extradited to the United Nations War Crimes tribunal at the Hague. According to a BBC news report Milosevic was secretly taken via helicopter from his prison cell in Belgrade to a US military base in Tuzla, Bosnia, and the from their was flown to the Hague. Prior to the extradition the current Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica promised the Serbian Socialist Party that Milosevic would not be extradited before the Yugoslav Constitutional Court decided whether the extradition was constitutionally legal. The extradition clearly took President Kostunica by surprise. Shortly after the Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic made a public televised announcement saying that his government decided to take over the jurisdiction of federal authorities on the extradition law and that there would have been negative consequences for the future of our country if it had failed to co-operate with the war crimes tribunal. All of these events took place a day before an international donor conference where Belgrade hoped to secure $1billion in aid. The very fact that Kostunica was not consulted or wasn't even aware the extradition took place until media reports reached the public, shows not only a growing divide between the Serbian and Yugoslav governments, but fundamentally threatens the existence of the Yugoslav state and ultimately the sovereignty of the Serbian people.

It is becoming increasingly clear that Djindjic is now turning on both Milosevic's and Kostunica's supporters in order to bypass the federal government and effectively take hold of the country. His government has blatantly ignored the jurisdiction of a federal court and usurped control. Likewise, recently the Serbian government made a number of announcements regarding the discovery of mass graves. This once again can be seen as an attempt to discredit and isolate Kostunica, who on numerous occasions denied their existence. The lack of response on part of Kostunica seems to indicate widespread support for Djindjic among the Yugoslav elite. While Kostunica's main hold on power seems to be based on popular support. Unlike Djindjic, who supported the bombing of his own people from Germany, Kostunica is a true nationalist.

If in fact Djindjic succeeds, the central authority of the Yugoslav Federation will unravel marking the end of Yugoslavia. Both Serbia and Montenegro will be easily marginalized on their own, Serbia without any access to the Mediterranean and any fleet and Montenegro with its tiny population and lack of any serious industrial base. The crippling effect will open a wider door for further Albanian expansionism with the broken Yugoslav army unable to curtail the growing Albanian threat, both Serbia and Montenegro will have no choice but to turn to NATO and the EU for protection. No doubt that will mark the end of sovereignty for yet one more Slavic nation, and with traitors such as Djindjic and Djukanovic at the helm self-reliance will be nearly impossible to regain even for people as strong willed as the Serbs!