U.S. Offers Aid if Yugoslavia Has Elections

The Clinton administration said Wednesday that it will end economic sanctions against Yugoslavia and participate in a massive international aid program to rebuild the war-torn country--provided President Slobodan Milosevic permits free and fair elections.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Washington now hopes to promote democratic change in Serbia, the dominant Yugoslav republic, by showing the population that free elections will bring dramatic improvements in their day-to-day lives.

The move is a sharp reversal for the administration, which previously vowed to maintain a strict embargo on food and fuel for as long as Milosevic remains in power.

Albright made the announcement after a meeting at the State Department with six Serbian political opponents of Milosevic. The group, calling itself Serbia’s “democratic opposition,” termed the administration’s action “better than we expected.”

In addition to offering to end sanctions and contribute to rebuilding the Yugoslav economy, Albright said the United States will withdraw its opposition to a European Union plan to ship heating oil to towns controlled by anti-Milosevic mayors.

Washington will contribute to the program, she said, if the oil “actually gets to the intended recipients” rather than the government in Belgrade, the Yugoslav and Serbian capital. The EU plans to begin the oil shipments whether or not elections are scheduled.

By basing its new policy on the holding of elections under international supervision rather than the outcome of the voting, the administration is taking a calculated risk that Milosevic would not win. In the past, the administration has vowed to continue sanctions until Milosevic is forced from office, whether by an election, a coup or some other means.

“I find it really, really hard to believe that Milosevic would win a free and fair election,” Albright said at a news conference.

When reporters continued to press the point, asking what the administration would do if Milosevic, a wily politician with sharply honed survival skills, pulled out a victory, Albright snapped: “If my grandmother had wheels, she’d be a bicycle.” She offered no elaboration.

Washington’s European allies have been urging such a shift in policy for weeks. They argue that sanctions--which were imposed during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina to punish Milosevic, widely seen as the architect of that 1992-95 conflict--are hurting the Yugoslav public far more than the Milosevic regime.

White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart acknowledged the pressure from Europe, telling reporters that the administration has been “working closely with the EU and others on how to deal with the humanitarian situation in a way that doesn’t bolster the Milosevic regime.”

But Albright said the administration’s first objective is to strengthen Milosevic’s political opponents. Referring to the heating oil plan, she said: “We want to make clear that our support for this project comes at the specific request of Serbia’s democratic leaders. It is they--not the regime in Belgrade--who will deserve the credit for each and every energy delivery that is made.”

Albright acknowledged that Milosevic’s opponents have blown earlier chances to take power by fighting among themselves. Vuk Draskovic, perhaps the best-known opposition politician in the country, didn’t make the trip to Washington. And those who came have often squabbled in the past.

Albright said she discussed that issue with the delegation, and “they have made it quite clear that they understand that their strength comes from working together and having an alliance where they support each other.”

At another news conference, the Serbian politicians insisted that they are ready to cooperate.

Zoran Djindjic, leader of Serbia’s Democratic Party, said the promise of aid is by far the most important part of the administration’s package.

“We must be able to promise our people a better economic future,” he said. “Without money from outside, we cannot promise this better future.”

From the administration’s standpoint, the new emphasis on Milosevic’s political opposition required a change in approach. After years of denouncing Milosevic as an unresponsive dictator who allowed no real opposition, Washington is now pinning its hopes on Milosevic reversing course and allowing free elections.