Yugoslavia Thrown Into Uncertainty After Milosevic's Extradition

Yugoslavia has been thrown into political uncertainty after the government of Serbia extradited former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic to the Hague Tribunal Thursday, ignoring a ruling from the Constitutional Court.

Following Milosevic's transfer, western countries promised Friday to grant 1.28 billion U.S. dollars in aid to the Balkan country.

The extradition, branded as "illegal" by Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica, spelled the end of the ruling federal coalition and caused a split of Kostunica's Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) alliance.

At a meeting with President Vojislav Kostunica on Friday, Prime Minister Zoran Zizic said he had decided to resign because the extradition had undermined the cooperation between the Socialist People's Party (SNP) of Montenegro and the DOS alliance, the two partners of the ruling coalition.

Zizic, SNP vice president, said Milosevic's extradition was a price "beyond any dignity."

Under the Yugoslav Constitution, if the prime minister resigns, his cabinet must also step down, and if the president could not form a new cabinet in three months, he must call federal polls in the country.

The DOS alliance holds only 58 seats in the 138-seat Chamber of Citizens (lower house of parliament) and 10 seats in the 40-member Chamber of Republic (upper house), while the SNP has 28 and 19 seats in the two chambers respectively.

Without support from the SNP, Kostunica looks difficult to find a replacement of Zizic and form a new federal government in the near future.

The Milosevic bombshell also prompted Kostunica to leave the DOS alliance. Kostunica, who claimed himself a moderate nationalist, has distanced himself from the extradition, describing it as unlawful and dangerous to the stability of Yugoslavia and the region.

He reiterated several times before the extradition that the cooperation with The Hague tribunal must be conducted within the framework of Yugoslav law.

To protest against the extradition, the president's Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) said it was quitting the parliamentary group of the DOS alliance.

Moreover, the unfolding political turmoil is set to encourage secessionist movements in both Montenegro and the U.N.- administered Kosovo, putting the future of the Yugoslav federation in danger, analysts said.

Montenegro is the smaller republic which together with Serbia forms the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The pro-independent Montenegrin authorities hailed the extradition and the retreat of the SNP from the federal government, claiming "it is the death of Milosevic-made Yugoslavia."

Montenegrin Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic said that "it would be easier to reach an accord between Serbia and Montenegro over establishing new relations in the federation."

In Kosovo, ethnic Albanian leaders also applauded the handover, saying it was just too late for the Serbian government to extradite the former president and urged Serbia to extradite more "war criminals" to The Hague.

They read the extradition as a sign of changing Serbian policies toward Kosovo and hoped the Serbian government will give up its firm objection to their ultimate goal for an independent state.






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