Milosevic Death, Burial Could Rally Serb Nationalists

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And the body of Slobodan Milosevic arrives in Belgrade later today. His return to the city he once dominated comes five years after he was sent to the Hague to stand trial for war crimes. Even though the pro-Western, Serbian government is refusing to give Milosevic a state funeral, it is concerned his burial in Serbia could serve as a rallying point for die-hard, ultranationalists.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Belgrade.

SYLVIA POGGIOLI reporting:

Milosevic's unexpected death has proved to be a slow burning fuse. It risks destabilizing Serbia's fragile pro-Western government which depends on the parliamentary votes of Milosevic's socialists. They had threatened to withdraw support if authorities refused to allow his burial here. The Belgrade tabloid media is having a field day. Headlines claim Milosevic was murdered in The Hague only a week after another Serb prisoner hung himself in his cell.

Vladeta Jankovic, the government's foreign policy advisor, says Serbia is in a tight spot between continued international pressure to hand over wanted war criminal Ratko Mladic and growing public animosity against the Hague tribunal.

Dr. VLADETA JANKOVIC (Foreign Policy Advisor, Serbia): That's how the general public is inevitably perceiving it. The Serbs are dying in The Hague. It's quite difficult to imagine how could we conceivably manage to persuade Mladic to give himself up voluntarily in light of what just happened.

POGGIOLI: The greatest concern of Serbian officials is the mounting popularity of the extreme nationalist radical party which already represents about a third of parliament and is the country's biggest party. Polls show the radicals are profiting from the country's disastrous economic situation with unemployment at 30 percent. Foreign minister Vuk Draskovic says the radicals are promoting Milosevic as a national hero.

Mr. VUK DRASKOVIC (Minister for Foreign Affairs, Serbia and Montenegro): The (unintelligible) Europeans are our tradition of enemies. Americans are traditional enemies. We have to go back to the legacy of Milosevic.

POGGIOLI: Draskovic cannot hide his concern that Serbia's future in the West is at stake. He's appealing to the European Union and the United States to be less rigid towards Serbia and immediately open the door for Serbia's participation in NATO's partnership for peace.

Mr. DRASKOVIC: If we join partnership of peace, and by the way, we fulfilled all conditions except Hague obstacle, it will be clear message to the forces of the past in Serbia that historical battle for the future of Serbia is over and no return Serbia to the darkness and (unintelligible) of Slobodan Milosevic.

POGGIOLI: Draskovic says Milosevic's death came at an extremely difficult time for Serbia. It's European Union association talks depend on handing over Mladic by the end of the month. It's engaged in international negotiations on the future status of the once Serb-dominated province of Kosovo and Bosnia has filed charges of genocide against the state of Serbia at the international court of justice, demanding billions of dollars in reparations.

Mr. DRASKOVIC: It's raining cats and dogs in Serbia and no umbrella and we need umbrella and that umbrella could be only European and NATO umbrella but, unfortunately, they're not ready to understand.

POGGIOLI: Jankovic, the government advisor, is also frustrated that the international community hasn't given any concrete sign of encouragement to pro-Western Serbs, but he sounds resigned that Serbia is treated differently.

Dr. JANKOVIC: I had a foreign diplomat say once that Serbia has forfeited its moral right to be treated equally. I find it terrible and cynical, but, you know, if one wants to survive her future for one's children, one needs to face reality. Milosevic is a very good example of a man who refused to face reality, and his destiny ought to be taken as a lesson.

POGGIOLI: Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Belgrade.

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