Visiting Clinton Praises Slovenia as Balkan Model, Warns of Dangers in Kosovo

Under the sodden skies of an unseasonably raw evening, President Clinton delivered a message of hope and support Monday to this sliver of a nation that broke away from Yugoslavia eight years ago, opted for democracy and hasn’t looked back.

The president arrived from Bonn, where he and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder laid plans for a summit of major industrial nations, Balkan states, Russia and others to draw a blueprint for integrating the impoverished and ethnically riven southeast corner of Europe into the rest of the continent.

The meeting could bring the president back to the Balkans, possibly to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, as early as next month.

The aftermath of the Kosovo conflict has dominated Clinton’s weeklong European tour, which ends today with visits to a refugee camp in Macedonia and to U.S. airmen in Aviano, Italy.

In his address here, Clinton also expressed the urgency of putting the 50,000-member NATO-led peacekeeping force assigned to Kosovo in position to protect the Serbs remaining in the province from revenge attacks by returning ethnic Albanians.

The president sought to cast a wide economic and political net around Yugoslavia and its president, Slobodan Milosevic, and to portray Slovenia as a poster child for Balkan democracy and prosperity.

“Serbia must reject the murderous rule of Mr. Milosevic and choose the path that Slovenia has chosen, where people reach across the old divides and find strength in their differences and their common humanity,” said Clinton, on the first visit to Slovenia by an American president.

From his podium, the president could see little more than multihued umbrellas bobbing over a sea of rain-slicked Slovenians. By police estimate, 5,000 residents filled a two-block stretch of Congress Square, this capital city’s central gathering point and a favored speaking perch of Marshal Josip Broz Tito when he ruled a united Yugoslavia for more than three decades after World War II.

Since 1993, Slovenia’s economy has grown at an average annual rate of 4%, the prime minister’s office has said. Unemployment has remained stubborn, at 14.5% by one measure. But inflation, which was 200% in 1992, was 7.9% last year. Exports to the countries of the European Union have climbed 40%.

Whether Slovenia’s relative success can be readily duplicated is a matter of debate, however: The pre-breakup Yugoslavia was the most developed of the world’s socialist nations. Slovenia was its most prosperous corner, bordering Italy, Austria, Hungary, Croatia and the Adriatic Sea. Compared with those of other former Yugoslav republics, its ethnic makeup is relatively homogeneous.

Protected from a downpour by a black raincoat and umbrella, Clinton won applause when he declared:

“Racial and religious hatred has no place in a civilized society. That is why free nations stood against Mr. Milosevic’s ethnic cleansing and killing in Kosovo. Now the Serb forces have left, the international security forces are moving in, and the Kosovars are going home.

“This is a great day for freedom,” he said.

On the edge of the crowd, Bozo Stefancic tugged at a rain-soaked sleeve clinging to his shoulder and said the three-hour wait for Clinton had been worthwhile.

“Great, great, simply great,” said the 66-year-old lawyer, a grin lighting his face above his gray goatee. “America is here. America will help us. We are on the right way.”

In Bonn, Clinton earlier raised the fear of retaliation in Kosovo now that Serbian forces have left.

“It is going to take a lot of leadership, a lot of self-discipline, for those who come home not to retaliate. They should not do that,” he said. “In the end, it will not satisfy anyone. It will only compound the horror. If we get our troops in, and properly positioned, we’ll be able to protect everyone.”

At a news conference behind the Palais Schaumburg in Bonn, where he met with Schroeder and Jacques Santer, president of the European Union, Clinton was adamant that the allies will give no assistance other than unspecified humanitarian aid to Yugoslavia--beyond Kosovo--while Milosevic remains in power.

But how to define humanitarian aid and distinguish it from money that could be used to rebuild Yugoslavia is a question that has defied answer.

“For me, it is important that if the Serbs want to keep Mr. Milosevic, and don’t want to be part of southeastern Europe’s future, that at least they not freeze to death this winter and that their hospitals not be forced to close. So they need some power,” Clinton said, suggesting work on elements of Yugoslavia’s electricity grid.

Should humanitarian aid include funds for the rebuilding of roads that people need to get to work?

“I don’t buy that. That’s part of their economic reconstruction, and I don’t think we should help--not a bit, not a penny,” he said.

But there still are many more questions than answers regarding reconstruction in Kosovo and elsewhere in Yugoslavia. Primary among them is the price.

A senior Clinton aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, said initial estimates that Kosovo will need between $1.5 billion and $3 billion have already grown as high as $5 billion.

“It will probably cost more than most people think, but I promise you, it will be a lot cheaper than a continuation of the war,” the president said.

Other questions include: Will Kosovo, still a province of Serbia--the dominant of Yugoslavia’s two republics--have a separate currency? Who will collect taxes? Will Kosovo customs agents police the borders?

According to Clinton aides, cooperation with Europe on Yugoslavia’s recovery will be what one called “the acid test” of the U.S.-European relationship at the opening of the 21st century.

Overall, the United States and its allies are seeking to assess, in order of priority, the needs of the refugees from Kosovo, the reconstruction requirements of the region and, eventually, the help Europe’s southeast corner needs to mimic the growth and peace of the rest of the continent.

That last goal, a senior Clinton aide said, “is quite critical.”

“We want the countries of the region to tell us what their needs are--cross-border projects like power grids, highways and gas pipelines,” the official said. The goal is to establish economic networks similar to those constructed in Western Europe after World War II so that the common needs of the wider community will overcome the hatreds that have torn it apart.

As for finding someone to replace the acting civil administrator of Kosovo, Clinton said: “It’s a fascinating job. I’d give anything if I could do it.”

On the Web

Extended coverage of the events in Yugoslavia is available at The Times’ Web site at https://www.latimes.com/yugo. Coverage includes hourly updates, all Times stories since NATO launched its attack, video clips, information on how to help the refugees, a primer on the conflict and access to our discussion group.