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Milosevic says Kosovo peacekeepers should leave

Milosevic remains popular in Yugoslavia despite the growth of opposition parties

February 17, 2000
Web posted at: 10:34 p.m. EST (0334 GMT)

In this story: Opposition to focus on economy RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (CNN) -- Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic derided his opposition and called for an end to the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Kosovo as his ruling party granted him a new term as its leader.

A campaign against ethnic Albanians in the Serbian province prompted an 11-week bombardment of the country by NATO air forces last year, which left Kosovo under the control of a NATO-led peacekeeping mission. Milosevic said Thursday that that mission has failed to protect the Serb minority in Kosovo, and said the peacekeepers should leave.

VIDEO CNN's Alessio Vinci reports on the Yugoslav president's speech to his party congress. Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K     ALSO Outgoing NATO commander warns Milosevic rebuilding army February 17, 2000     MESSAGE BOARD Kosovo: Prospects for Peace

"This shameful mission of the so-called international community has suffered a complete breakdown," he said. "It has to end as soon as possible, and this country has to assume authority over the whole of its territory."

Milosevic was named the Socialist Party leader by acclamation. Independent media in Yugoslavia were not allowed to cover the conference.

Socialist Party delegates gave Milosevic a standing ovation at the party congress in Belgrade, celebrating his 10 years in power. In that decade, Milosevic has presided over a nation battered by civil war and economic sanctions; the secession of most of its constituent republics; and its isolation from much of the world.

Opposition leaders used the Socialist congress to again call for Milosevic's ouster. The Serbian Renewal Movement, Yugoslavia's largest opposition party, said his presidency has left a "ruined" country "that has been turned into a concentration camp isolated in Europe."

But the Socialists remain the country's most popular political party, and a recent poll showed that Milosevic himself remains Yugoslavia's most trusted politician.

Milosevic received a standing ovation from Socialist Party delegates at the party congress Thursday in Belgrade

But all opposition parties combined could capture 55 percent of the vote if an election were held, the same poll suggested. Opposition politicians like Goran Svilanovic say the country's ruined economy should be the focus of an anti-Milosevic campaign.

"It will not end with the ouster of Mr. Milosevic, it is just going to be the start," Svilanovic said. "Therefore, I think that economical situation of the country and the further development is going to dominate all other meetings of the Serbian opposition."

Students in Belgrade mocked the party congress with their own congress nearby. Student leader Ivan Marovic said they wanted to make a distinction between the "old and corrupt Serbia" and a younger, more open country.

Milosevic dismissed his opposition as "weaklings and thieves," and other party officials accused them of hiding behind the countries that bombed Yugoslavia during the Kosovo conflict.

Dragan Tomic, a leading Socialist, said opposition leaders were "kneeling down and kissing the hands of the killers of their own people."

Correspondent Alessio Vinci and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Archives of Yugoslavia
Political parties of Yugoslavia:
Democratic Party of Yugoslavia
New Democracy Party
www.kosova.com
Democratic Party of Serbia
Socialist Party of Serbia

Kosovo sites:
Kosovo.net
Kosovo.com
Kosova.nu
Media Centar of Pristina
Kosovo Road Map Online
Kosova Liberation Peace Movement

Human rights organizations:
Kosovo - Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Web
Human Rights Net

General information:
CIA World Factbook -- Serbia and Montenegro
Amnesty International 1998 Annual Report on Yugoslavia
PoliSci.com on Serbia and Montenegro
U.S. Library of Congress Country Study - Yugoslavia
Global Beat
Jane's Kosovo Special Feature
Institut§e for War and Peace Reporting
Crisisweb on South Balkans

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