Yugoslavia Charges U.S., Allies With War Crimes

The Justice Ministry, apparently miffed at international war crimes charges leveled against Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, on Friday ordered President Clinton and other Western leaders to appear in court on similar charges.

A Justice Ministry statement, carried by the official Tanjug news agency, charges the leaders with committing war crimes against civilians during the 78-day NATO bombing campaign against Yugoslavia.

It said the ministry was issuing subpoenas for the leaders “according to international regulations.” It did not specify when the Western leaders should appear in court or say how the subpoenas would be handed to the accused.

Several such trials have been announced by different Yugoslav courts. The trials apparently are an official response by the Yugoslav leadership to war crimes charges leveled against Milosevic and his four top aides by a U.N. tribunal.

Subpoenas were issued to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Defense Secretary William Cohen; the premiers, defense ministers and foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany; NATO’s soon-departing secretary-general, Javier Solana; and the alliance’s supreme commander in Europe, U.S. Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark.

But an opposition official, Milan Bozic of the Serbian Renewal Movement, dismissed the Justice Ministry order as a “propaganda move for domestic consumption with no effect against those accused.”

Also Friday, a Serbian opposition leader met with Bulgarian officials in Sofia, hoping to draw on their experience in an upcoming series of street protests designed to force Milosevic from office. Starting Sept. 21, the opposition plans to launch protests, strikes and roadblocks in 20 cities.

Zoran Djindjic, leader of the Democratic Party of Serbia, talked with Bulgarian Premier Ivan Kostov and other government officials about the plan. The Bulgarian leaders shared their experiences heading similar protests several years ago to force ex-Communists from power.

“If Milosevic remains in power, a disintegration of the state will follow,” Djindjic said.

He acknowledged that Serbia’s opposition is hamstrung by disunity and the inability to democratically elect leaders in a country that lacks a democratic tradition.

“We listened with great attention to the experience of [Bulgaria’s ruling] Union of Democratic Forces, which evolved to a single party from an alliance of 16 groups,” Djindjic said.