Party Opens Crucial Meeting on Demands for Reform : Unrest Threatens Stability, Yugoslavs Warned

Yugoslavia’s Communist Party power structure opened a debate Monday that it hopes will forestall growing demands for a national political housecleaning, with the president of the Central Committee acknowledging that the situation “is very difficult and burdened with dangers to the stability of the country.”

In a two-hour address at the opening of a crucial Central Committee meeting, Stipe Suvar took only a veiled swipe at Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic, whose followers are demanding reform of the constitutional system in an effort to regain control of the autonomous province of Kosovo, now dominated by ethnic Albanians.

Frightened By Public Discontent

The Milosevic movement, while narrowly concerned over the ethnic issue, has capitalized on a deep economic and political crisis and has thrown a scare into Communist leaders who fear they might be removed from office by growing public discontent.

Virtually all Communist officials here pay at least minimal lip service to the increasing complaints over economic problems by coming out in favor of economic reform and blaming the party for its failure to relieve the situation.

In his speech, Suvar declared: “All the incompetent and compromised people must go, and this society must be ensured of a perspective. . . . Either we all resolve the crisis together, or we all head to destruction.”

But the present dispute centers not on the party’s set of reforms, but on what is in essence a party power struggle with Milosevic.

Milosevic, using a power base of Serbs aroused about the Kosovo issue, favors change as well and has declared that the same leaders who have presided over what he calls “the mess in Kosovo” are equally incapable of leading a genuine economic reform.

Party leaders, Suvar among them, fear that Milosevic’s tactic of inspiring large Serbian-dominated public demonstrations--demanding a return of Kosovo to Serbian control and the removal of corrupt and incompetent officials--could endanger their own positions. Also, they are alarmed at reawakened feelings of nationalism triggered by the Serbs and fear that any rearrangement of power might give special advantage to the Serbs.

The issue of nationalism has always been explosive here, reflecting the ethnic and religious divisions in the country. Yugoslavia is a federation of six republics and two autonomous provinces, each with own ruling Communist Party and often conflicting economic and social interests.

Suvar referred to the Milosevic phenomenon, although he did not mention the threatening politician by name, speaking only of “the petite bourgeoise strata whose response to this crisis is not to call for more socialism but, let us say, more national hatred, chauvinism and the unleashing of blind forces.”

But he went on to give what could be interpreted as at least grudging support for the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators who have turned out at Milosevic-inspired rallies.

Suvar said the working class “has demonstrated that it will allow no one who is incompetent, who is an opportunist, who steals and becomes wealthy at the expense of social property to remain in posts of leadership.”

2 Politburo Members Quit

On Sunday, two members of the Yugoslav party Politburo, one from Basnea and one from Kosovo, announced their resignations in a move the party leadership hopes will appease Milosevic. Just under one-third of the present 124-member Central Committee membership is expected to resign at the meeting.

Under party rules, if more than a third of the Central Committee membership leaves office, there must be an extraordinary party congress. The top leadership hopes to avoid this, fearing that it could be forced out of power.

One more resignation from Kosovo may be forced by Milosevic, although it would threaten a backlash from the ethnic Albanians, who account for 80% of the region’s population.

Milosevic, also speaking at the Central Committee meeting, defended the rallies, arguing that the “peril of Yugoslavia does not result from Serbia’s alleged intention to get rid of Kosovo.”

The rallies, he said, “are held in protest against the inability of institutions and individuals to stop terror in Kosovo. . . . This is completely in link with our system, where all working people manage this society.”

Serb Displeasure ‘Normal’

He said the displeasure of the Serbs is “normal and honest.” It would be less understandable, he said, “if people were to sleep nights while children are raped, tombs overturned and an entire culture liquidated.”

Serbs, who have been steadily moving out of Kosovo over the last 10 years, charged that the Serbian minority in the province is under relentless attack from the Albanians. The Albanians are Muslim, the Serbs orthodox Christians. Tales of Albanian outrages against Serbs are taken as a matter of faith by most Serbs.

Speaking of proposed changes to the 1974 constitution, Milosevic said, “Only the bureaucracy loses, not the province.”

As for economic reforms, Milosevic said Serbia was “determined for changes and has already begun implementing them. . . . Life in socialism must stop being necessarily hard and poor.”

Milan Kucon, the party leader in the republic of Slovenia, urged the party to speed up its reforms, arguing that “slowness will pull us down.” He said Slovenia will support the constitutional changes sought by Serbia, but added:

“We must put aside ethnic differences and national tensions and democratize the party, which is the real issue before us.”

Security for the meeting was tight, with police reportedly on alert to prevent any major demonstrations in the vicinity of the large modern convention center. Party representatives in businesses and state offices were told by officials at party headquarters not to excuse employees from work during the meeting.

The meeting, which began at 9 a.m. and continued late into the night, is being televised but with a one-hour tape delay, apparently to allow the authorities to edit out any provocative or inflammatory statements.