Serb Leader Lets Radio Stations Broadcast Again

Bowing to intense diplomatic pressure, Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic allowed Belgrade’s last independent radio stations to resume broadcasting Thursday and appeared to be moving toward other concessions to defuse nearly three weeks of unrelenting protest.

One potential breakthrough in the standoff between Milosevic’s authoritarian regime and his pro-democracy opposition came with the announcement that disputed elections--which triggered the most sustained challenge ever to Milosevic--will be reviewed by the Serbian Supreme Court.

The backtracking by Milosevic was the clearest sign yet that he intends to forge a deal with his opponents. He apparently hopes to corral the politically damaging protests while rescuing himself from the same international pariah status that he only recently managed to shed.

According to Serbian sources, Western diplomats had given Milosevic a deadline of today to take steps that would show he is willing to compromise.

For the 18th straight day, tens of thousands of students and anti-Communist demonstrators filled downtown Belgrade, the Serbian and Yugoslav capital, on Thursday. One group bore an effigy of Milosevic dressed in jailbird stripes, and a couple of people waved American flags.

Thursday afternoon, two radio stations--B-92 and the student-run Index--returned to the airwaves after U.S. and European officials criticized Milosevic’s government for their shutdown. Both stations, which had provided the only detailed coverage of the demonstrations, were ordered closed by government officials Tuesday, enraging the opposition and provoking an international outcry.

Abruptly, the government ignored its own ruling and said Thursday that B-92’s transmission difficulties were merely technical, caused by snow on radio cables, and that it could resume broadcasting at any time. Index was similarly invited back to life.

Amid the celebration over the return of the radio broadcasts, however, some analysts pointed to a standard Milosevic tactic: He takes an extreme and provocative action such as closing a relatively harmless radio station, they said, then dramatically backs down to demonstrate his willingness to be reasonable. Such moves, the analysts said, obscure the real issue, which is the apparent opposition victories in municipal elections last month that Milosevic annulled.

Still, there was apparent movement on that front too. The head of the Belgrade election commission, Radomir Lazarevic, announced that he had asked the Serbian Supreme Court to review the Milosevic-controlled lower court’s ruling that canceled the Nov. 17 electoral victories.

Although courts thus far have upheld the ruling, several Supreme Court justices this week voiced dissent and accused their judicial colleagues of “shameful” subservience to political pressure.

If the Supreme Court invalidates the lower ruling, it could provide a face-saving way for Milosevic to restore the election results and extricate himself from a crisis that has brought an unwanted spotlight on the Serbian president’s regime. International criticism, slow to gain steam, is mounting and becoming untenable for Milosevic, diplomats said.

It was not yet clear if the concessions would be sufficient to appease the opposition, whose protests stunned Milosevic, cornered him into heavy-handed responses and probably inflicted permanent political damage on his regime.

Other steps were being taken to defuse opposition. Government newspapers announced that chronically overdue pensions and student loan installments will be paid and exorbitant electricity fees reduced.

Yugoslavia’s economic crisis, which includes a 50% urban unemployment rate, helped fuel the widespread dissatisfaction that prompted people to vote against Milosevic’s Socialist Party and later, to take to the streets.

Meanwhile, Milosevic on Thursday made his first public appearance since the start of the daily marches and rallies. He toured a highway construction company with Momir Bulatovic, the president of Montenegro, and state television reported that the two “discussed economic development that will enable Yugoslavia to enter the circle of developed Europe.”

The rump Yugoslavia is made up of Serbia and the smaller Montenegro. The joint visit appeared aimed at showing Montenegrin support for Milosevic, who next year may run for president of Yugoslavia. Several Montenegrin officials in recent days have criticized the Milosevic regime for its brutish handling of the unrest.