Milosevic's Last Gambit

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic may not yet bear the shattered visage of an Ozymandias, but his sneer of cold command has looked a lot less confident the past few days. The tyrant, who has ruled Yugoslavia for the last 13 years, perpetrating countless crimes against humanity, is in danger of being ousted from his seat of power. When Yugoslavia's citizens went to the polls two weeks ago, many were hopeful that Milosevic's rival, Vojislav Kostunica, would capture the majority of the country's vote. And all evidence pointed to Kostunica's electoral victory.

Yet even as many Serbs have taken to the streets in celebration, Milosevic has refused to concede defeat. Claiming that the voting returns are too close to determine a winner, Milosevic has declared that there will be a runoff vote, which will take place this Sunday. Meanwhile, Kostunica is contesting the new vote as undemocratic. He has urged Serbs to boycott the polls and flood the streets in protest. Some Western analysts have questioned the wisdom of this strategy. They fear that low voter turnout will enable Milosevic to declare a fraudulent victory after the second round.

Still, there are signs of hope in Yugoslavia. Milosevic's backhanded tactics for securing his stranglehold on power--he changed the constitution to schedule the election nine months before its usual time, in attempt to disable his opposition--now seem foolhardy miscalculations. And Milosevic finally has shown himself to be not insensitive to his people's preferences. Student leaders have been left to their protests, unharassed by police. National TV has remarkably evaded the propaganda machine and reported Milosevic's stunning loss. These breakthroughs have met with encouraging signs from abroad. President Clinton, along with several European leaders, has announced his intention to remove economic sanctions against Yugoslavia pending the opposition forces' victory.

International attention is finally being focused on Kostunica, a 56-year-old lawyer who is backed by 18 opposition parties. Kostunica has stylized himself as a moderate nationalist and a firm proponent of democratic principles. The voices of Serbs have indeed gone unheard long enough. Kostunica would be wise to use this moment in the limelight to convince Serbs and the international community of his commitment to a real, working democracy. It is about time for a new, more peaceful chapter in Yugoslavia's troubling history.