Global Policy Forum

By Priscilla Cheung

Still grappling with the fallout from a decade of Balkan conflict, Yugoslavia told U.N. members that they had a stake in the country's stability and urged more support for its fledging government.

Chief among the country's myriad problems are security in Kosovo and the redefinition of the Yugoslav federation, comprised of Serbia and the independence-minded Montenegro, Yugoslav Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic told the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday.

``These questions do not concern Yugoslavia alone; they are also of vital political importance for the entire region of southeast Europe,'' he said.

It was Yugoslavia's first address at the assembly's annual ministerial-level debate since its U.N. membership was restored after an uprising forced autocratic ruler Slobodan Milosevic out of office in October 2000.

In 1992, the General Assembly asked Yugoslavia to apply for U.N. admission as a new country following the breakup of the Yugoslav socialist republic, but it refused. As a result, Yugoslavia was barred from speaking or voting in the General Assembly, although it remained a U.N. member.

A year after Vojislav Kostunica succeeded Milosevic, his government — plagued by internal bickering — has failed to bring prosperity to the impoverished nation. Montenegro is expected to hold a referendum on secession next spring, and ethnic tensions persist in Kosovo.

Svilanovic called on nations to help preserve the federation's territorial integrity. ``It must be clearly said that the era of disintegration in the Balkans has come to an end,'' he said.

Yugoslavia also faces pressure to surrender war crime suspects to the U.N. tribunal for trial, despite handing over Milosevic and other suspects. Many Serbs believe the tribunal is biased.

``Kostunica's long-standing defiance of the tribunal is consistent, clear and unmistakable,'' Richard Dicker of the New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

But Svilanovic pledged support for the new international criminal court, which is expected to start operating next year.

Svilanovic also complained about the security situation for Serbs in Kosovo, dominated by ethnic Albanians.

Yugoslav troops left Kosovo in June 1999 after a 78-day NATO bombing campaign to punish Milosevic's crackdown against ethnic Albanians in the province. Hundreds of non-Albanians, mainly Kosovo Serbs, were later killed in retaliatory attacks.

Svilanovic reiterated Yugoslavia's call for Kosovo Serbs to vote in Saturday's first province-wide elections for a legislature and government. Those elected will run the province with U.N. officials and NATO peacekeepers, who have been administering Kosovo since the NATO campaign ended.

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