After Milosevic

Street demonstrations demanding the ouster of President Slobodan Milosevic are increasing thoughout Yugoslavia. By the tens of thousands, people are signing illegal petitions calling for his resignation and the police are looking the other way. Army reserve units, mad about not getting paid, madder about risking their lives for a brutal madman, are blockading major roads.

For Milosevic, the end is near, his options are few. He has amassed a considerable fortune at his nation’s expense; he may find haven in another country that doesn’t mind being a pariah. He may turn himself over to the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague and answer the indictments against him. He may find himself being dragged through the streets of Belgrade by an angry mob.

As the anti-Milosevic movement grows, so does the doubt that Yugoslavia has a leader who can pull this shattered country back together. The lack of an acceptable, capable, humane successor a familiar them at demonstrations.

Yugoslavia should not have such a dearth of political leaders; it was, before Milosevic at least, a country with a well-educated population and a civilized culture. That it seems otherwise may be one of the most lasting and damaging of Milosevic’s legacies.

Many who could lead, especially those pro-democracy politicians who spoke out against Milosevic, are missing, some are dead. Many others, those who tried to work with Milosevic, are tainted, guilty by association.

Such as Vuk Draskovic, a writer-turned-politician who is leading the protest rallies. Highly intelligent, courageous and a strong supporter of democracy and civil rights, Draskovic made a big mistake early this year: he joined the government, convinced that Milosevic could be talked into moderation. He resigned when he learned otherwise, but the damage to his reputation was done.

Draskovic’s situation is not unique. Many Yugoslavs were duped by Milosevic into believing that peace and democracy were just one more dirty deed away. As a result, Yugoslavia will have a hard time finding anyone to form a new government, either top-level leaders or mid-level managers, who do not bear the Milosevic stain. Yugoslavs have another reason to doubt the credibility of their opposition leaders: four times during the 10-year Milosevic reign, the people rose up in protest. While they were being beaten and jailed, the opposition leaders squabbled among themselves.

Last week, Defense Secretary William Cohen and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Hugh Shelton gave a brutally frank assessment of the difficulties NATO faced in trying to bring together 19 nations, each with different agendas, strategies and military capabilities, into one concerted effort in Kosovo. The lessons NATO learned under fire will be crucial in helping to rebuild a new Yugoslavia, but they will count for nothing unless the opposition leaders, and the Yugoslavian people, learned lessons of their own during a decade of tyranny.