Word: serbia
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...results, but if the pattern holds this means Milosevic is offering a runoff election, since according to his results neither man got the necessary 50 percent. Tonight's decision means Milosevic has made a vitally important psychological step. He's admitted he's not the most popular politician in Serbia, and that he's losing the election. And most importantly, he seems to be opting for a political solution rather than violence and confrontation. That's taken him a lot closer to stepping down...
Stealing an election in Serbia isn't easy, even for a felon as seasoned as Slobodan Milosevic - and that makes the Serb strongman more likely to play for time, or even start another war somewhere as an excuse to hang on to power. As results poured in Monday from ballot boxes from all over what remains of Yugoslavia, the bitter winter of 1996-97 may be weighing heavily on Milosevic's mind. Weeks of massive street demonstrations in Belgrade had forced him, early in 1997, to concede city hall to the opposition party chosen by the voters...
...presided over a decade of disaster. Kostunica, after all, is a nationalist - albeit comparitively moderate - and firmly opposed to NATO. He's even vowed that, if elected, he won't hand Milosevic over for trial in the Hague. But he's also a democrat who has promised to turn Serbia into a "normal" European country. It would be foolhardy, at this stage, to count out a streetfighter as seasoned as Milosevic, but there's no doubt that he's facing the fight of his life...
...polls' closing and, with the backing of his army, daring anyone to disagree. But the Clinton-Blair "trial" may have a more sinister intention than simply cocking a snook at the International Criminal Tribunal in the Hague. Now that Clinton, Albright, Blair and others are convicted criminals in Serbia, association with any of them could be deemed consorting with a fugitive from justice - and that could create a further pretext for arresting dozens of Serbian opposition figures...
...more worrying that the U.S. and Europeans have no clear policy about what to do if violence breaks out after the election in Montenegro, Kosovo or Serbia itself. Once again, the West will find itself reacting to Milosevic's move. When NATO went to war against Milosevic, they really weren't sure what they were getting into. When he suddenly agreed to withdraw from Kosovo, NATO was left in a situation of not knowing what to do about Kosovo or about Milosevic. And now as the situation threatens to escalate, once again they don't know what...