Kostunica: Not Easy Ally for West
   Updated 1:38 PM ET October 1, 2000

   By DUSAN STOJANOVIC, Associated Press Writer

   BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) - If Vojislav Kostunica prevails in his
   electoral struggle against President Slobodan Milosevic, he won't be
   the easy ally the West had hoped for.

   Kostunica's moderate nationalism and criticism of the West are a far
   cry from Milosevic, whose 13-year reign - marked by wars and defiance
   - brought misery and instability for the Balkans.

   Still, some of his positions are hard to swallow for Washington and
   its allies.

   The mild-spoken law scholar, who claims victory in the Sept. 24
   presidential election, has said he won't extradite Milosevic to a war
   crimes tribunal in The Hague. He described last year's NATO
   intervention in Yugoslavia as a "criminal act" and has accused
   Washington of helping Milosevic remain in power with its
   confrontational policies.

   Kostunica supported Kosovo Serbs in their struggle against ethnic
   Albanians to keep the province within Serbia, and backed Bosnian Serbs
   in their 1991-95 war to secede.

   But he never supported Milosevic's brutal campaigns of expulsion of
   non-Serbs from neighboring republics. And he says his pro-Serb stance
   should not automatically put him on a confrontational course with the
   West.

   "Being a nationalist doesn't mean you are against other nations,"
   Kostunica said in a recent interview. "Being Serbian doesn't mean
   being anti-American."

   Kostunica advocates patching up ties with the United States and the
   West but says he doesn't want the country to become a Western puppet.

   Such attitudes likely helped Kostunica in his apparent victory against
   Milosevic. A pro-Western agenda doesn't win elections in Yugoslavia,
   whose people suffered through 78 days of NATO bombardment over the
   issue of Kosovo and nearly 10 years of international sanctions imposed
   for Milosevic's fomenting of Balkan wars.

   Kostunica supporters, however, take exception to suggestions that he
   is just a milder form of Milosevic, who campaigned on a rabidly
   anti-Western platform.

   "The elections were not deciding who is for or against America, but
   who is for or against Milosevic," said opposition leader Zarko Korac.
   "Serbs said a huge 'No' to Milosevic, much thanks to Kostunica."

   The sudden popularity of Kostunica, 56, is partly a result of mistakes
   committed by his rivals within the opposition.

   The leader of the small Democratic Party of Serbia had for years
   languished in the shadows of Vuk Draskovic, longtime king of street
   protest, and Zoran Djindjic, a pro-Western pragmatist.

   But Draskovic and Djindjic were already compromised - Serbs were tired
   of their constant bickering and jockeying for leadership of the
   opposition. And they made further mistakes during NATO bombing.

   Draskovic briefly joined Milosevic's government and Djindjic fled to
   Serbia's sister republic, Montenegro, abandoning his party and
   supporters.

   Kostunica, however, did what most other Serbs did; he sat in bomb
   shelters and waited for the air strikes to end. The perception that he
   shared the general Serb fate, along with his criticism of NATO,
   ensured his rapid rise in popularity.

   When he joined an 18-party opposition coalition formed ahead of last
   week's elections, he was a natural choice to challenge Milosevic,
   whose arrogant and untouchable aura was in direct contrast with
   Kostunica's approachable and down-to-earth style.

   Kostunica walks around Belgrade without bodyguards, drives a battered
   white Yugo car, and lives in a modest apartment in the old part of the
   capital with his wife, two cats and a dog.

   "He's one of us," housewife Milica Babic said. "And not like
   Milosevic, a God, or rather a Devil, watching from the sky."

   Kostunica's moderate nationalism and rigid political stands appealed
   to the general public, without alienating the liberal intellectuals or
   Serbia's minorities. And - unlike some other opposition figures - he
   was never a part of Milosevic's elite or linked to corruption.

   Opposition leaders, using figures from their poll watchers, claim
   Kostunica won the election with 51 percent to 36 percent for
   Milosevic. But the Federal Electoral Commission, in a tally criticized
   by the United States and other countries, says Kostunica fell short of
   the majority needed to avoid a runoff.

   On Sunday, a convoy of 60 trucks blocked a key highway as opposition
   forces sought to gather support for a nationwide strike aimed at
   showing Milosevic he must relinquish power.

   But even if Milosevic steps aside, Kostunica will face numerous
   obstacles.

   Kostunica now depends on the Democratic Opposition of Serbia
   coalition, which is made of several diverse parties and groups,
   encompassing nationalists and ethnic minorities, labor unions and
   center-right technocrats.

   They came together for a common goal - driving Milosevic from power.
   If they succeed, it remains to be seen whether they can stay together
   or succumb to the temptation of pursuing different agendas in the face
   of monumental problems facing this country after a decade of civil
   strife and economic collapse.

   Also, there are fears that Milosevic will exert influence, even if
   driven from the position of president, a formerly ceremonial post that
   he endowed with undisputed authority once he took office.

   "If Milosevic decides to become a doorman in his Socialist Party
   headquarters, he will still wield enough power to make Kostunica's and
   Yugoslavs' lives miserable," says analyst Bratislav Grubacic.