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Saturday Morning News

Shadow of Milosevic Looms Over Yugoslav Presidential Inauguration

Aired October 7, 2000 - 9:05 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

LINDA STOUFFER, CNN ANCHOR: Now in other news, in the Balkans, Yugoslav President-elect Vojislav Kostunica is expected to take the oath of office today, perhaps as soon as just a couple of hours from now.

CNN's Brent Sadler is live in Belgrade this morning. He joins us with the very latest from there.

Brent, hello.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Linda.

First of all, it does seem right now that the president-elect of Yugoslavia, Vojislav Kostunica, is on the threshold of assuming the presidency, Slobodan Milosevic, less than 24 hours ago, having finally conceded that he had lost the September 24 presidential elections.

Now, throughout the day, there are various procedures being -- going on behind closed doors at constituent assembly of the federal parliament. This just one of the things that has to happen from the procedural viewpoint before this swearing-in ceremony takes place.

And Mr. Kostunica, his election was announced, confirmed by Mr. Milosevic, that triggered off overnight another series of euphoric demonstrations in support of the new president-elect, Mr. Kostunica going through, and the political demise, of course, of President Slobodan Milosevic. He still refers to himself as such.

So the streets of Belgrade, as you can see, once again packed with crowds, with whistles, loud hailers, really celebrating the birth of their so-called democracy, their new birth of democracy here.

Now, also, there was unconfirmed reports from Yugoslavia, from Belgrade, that Mr. Milosevic's son, Marco, his daughter-in-law, and grandson, Marco Jr., had left on a Yugoslav Air flight to Moscow. That's not being confirmed officially here in Belgrade or in Moscow, where Mr. Milosevic's brother, Borislav Milosevic, who's the Yugoslav ambassador to Russia, was asked about whether or not it was realistic that Mr. Milosevic had said he plans to continue with a political career.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BORISLAV MILOSEVIC, YUGOSLAV AMB. TO RUSSIA (through translator): And he has said that he is going to have a rest for a while, and then to be within his family, and then to be engaged in politics, in political work. Mr. Slobodan Milosevic, the leader of the largest political party of Yugoslavia, and this is the Socialist Party (UNINTELLIGIBLE), which has the most -- the largest parliamentary reflection in Yugoslavian parliament, and a lot of supporters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SADLER: So Mr. Milosevic not planning to bow out of politics, and planning to be, if you like, a large political shadow over the scene. Opposition supporters here say that's totally unrealistic -- Linda.

STOUFFER: Brent Sadler with the latest from Belgrade. Thanks very much.

Euphoria over the dramatic power shift in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, is tempered by a pledge, as Brent mentioned a moment ago, by Slobodan Milosevic to remain active in Yugoslav politics.

Well, for more on what this means, here's CNN's Belgrade bureau chief, Alessio Vinci.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a moment everyone was waiting for. Yugoslav Presidential Slobodan Milosevic congratulating President-elect Vojislav Kostunica, and conceding the presidential election.

PRESIDENT SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC, YUGOSLAVIA (voice of translator): I congratulate Mr. Kostunica, his electoral victory, and I wish to all citizens of Yugoslavia a lot of success in next period of the new president. Thank you.

VINCI: While Mr. Milosevic said he plans to rest for now, he made clear he has no intention of giving up politics.

MILOSEVIC: To continue to reinforce my party.

VINCI: The gesture from Milosevic came just hours after the arrival in Belgrade of Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, who wasted little time before publicly congratulating Kostunica for his election win.

He then drove over to one of President Milosevic's residences for a one-on-one meeting. It was the first time Mr. Milosevic had been seen since the uprising began.

The Yugoslav president told the Russian envoy he would remain in politics as the leader of the largest party in the country, provoking strong reaction from one of the leaders of the opposition.

ZARKO KORAC, OPPOSITION LEADER: Do they want such a man, indicted for war crimes, despised by the whole country, as head of their party? But at some point, will -- the issue of him and his past behavior is going to be raised here, and we think that we are not over yet with this crisis. We think that we won, but this is not the final victory as long as he's at liberty.

VINCI: Among the people over the last two days, many concerns about whether Mr. Milosevic should be allowed to remain in the country once he steps down. Many here believe democracy will be in danger as long as he remains.

But the man the people elected as their next president told supporters Thursday night...

VOJISLAV KOSTUNICA, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF YUGOSLAVIA (voice of translator): He should not be arrested. He has already arrested himself, a long time ago, when he escaped from his people.

VINCI: As hundreds of thousands gathered on the streets to celebrate, they made clear to Mr. Milosevic they were no longer his people.

Alessio Vinci, CNN, Belgrade.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUFFER: Now Yugoslavia was a kingdom prior to World War II, and the royal family was forced into exile after the communists came to power. The heir to the Yugoslav throne is Crown Prince Alexander. He joins us from New York this morning to offer his views on all the changes now sweeping his homeland.

Sir, we thank you so much for speaking with us today.

ALEXANDER, CROWN PRINCE OF YUGOSLAVIA: Thank you.

STOUFFER: Well, we all watched those amazing pictures this week, the man standing on the balcony, the people climbing on the police vehicles. It was incredible for us to see. What were you thinking as you watched history being made there?

PRINCE ALEXANDER: I was very happy to see that democracy was finally being achieved and that my wishes had come true. Actually there's much work to be done, and I'm glad to see that my work in bringing democracy and all the meetings I gathered, the conferences I did amongst the opposition leaders, has actually come to something meaningful. But the work has to be done now.

STOUFFER: Well, I know that you issued a message to the Yugoslav people earlier this week asking them to give Kostunica full support and take no revenge. What did you mean by that?

PRINCE ALEXANDER: Well, I think we've had enough bloodshed, certainly, in our region, and I don't want to see any bloodshed in Serbia or Montenegro, for that matter. I think we have to turn a new page, allow Mr. Kostunica to build up his government, and to get all the areas of government in position, really from bottom to top. We have to start from scratch, and also help the people, the polity, get jobs and lift the sanctions.

It's a big task, and it must be done. So therefore, I support this process.

STOUFFER: And after all that happened this week, what will it mean for everyday people in Belgrade and in other cities in Yugoslavia, as they try to go about their daily lives, get health care, that kind of thing? When will they start to see real meaningful change?

PRINCE ALEXANDER: This is a very good question. I am -- I think that there's so much to be done. The big concern is how long is it going to get this government to function, to take over the ministries, to be able to rule the country in a meaningful way, and also keep this coalition of 18 opposition parties together? There is some concern there.

Therefore, he does require full support. And then, of course, the Milosevic element has to be isolated. His party is breaking up. There's no doubt about that. That's the Socialist Party. There are good Socialists and bad Socialists. I think the good Socialists have every right to form a new party, believing in the principles of democracy.

And then there's the winter to face. Unless there is massive aid in helping to bring fuel, heating, a lot of people will suffer. The health care system has also collapsed too. It's quite a nightmare. But I'm certain if everybody remains united, it can be achieved. And the West, of course, help from the West, humanitarian help would be gratefully received.

STOUFFER: Well, we'll have to see what happens as sanctions begin to be lifted.

Crown Prince of Yugoslavia, Prince Alexander, we appreciate your being with us today. Thank you very much.

PRINCE ALEXANDER: Thank you.

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