U.S. alone in bid to isolate Belgrade

BELGRADE (YUGOSLAVIA), APRIL 16. Despite the indictment of the President, Mr. Slobodan Milosevic, on war crimes charges and the efforts of Washington to isolate his regime, the Western diplomatic quarantine of Yugoslavia has broken down, with every major European country represented here by senior diplomats. Only the U.S. has no diplomats here and has no plans to send any as long as Mr. Milosevic remains in power, even though it continues to retain a local staff of about 50 people.

Most NATO countries withdrew their diplomats during the war, but have slowly seen the need for some representation in Belgrade, generally regarding Yugoslavia as too important to ignore. But sending new Ambassadors is awkward because convention requires a meeting with the head of State, who in this case has been indicted for war crimes.

On the French Embassy here, there is a sign that says, ``Embassy of Switzerland, French interest section.'' But the embassy functions with some three diplomats, who issue visas and provide consular services but also behave like diplomats. Similarly, the British, with a senior diplomat who had already served four years here, are formally represented by Brazil, the Germans by Japan. And both France and Germany have issued limited visas for European parliamentary meetings to Yugoslav officials like the former Socialist Party spokesman, Ivica Dacic, who are on the European and American lists of people banned from traveling to the West.

In general, the Europeans want to distinguish between the isolation of the government and Serbian people, who still regard themselves as Western-oriented. The tension between the Clinton administration and the European Union over the efficiency of sanctions and how to bring down Mr. Milosevic surfaces regularly, with many Europeans believing that opening up trade, contacts and travel with Serbia will bring down Mr. Milosevic much faster than isolation, which the regime manipulates in its propaganda of a brave Serbia surrounded by enemies. This winter, for example, the Europeans went ahead with oil and energy aid for Serbian cities controlled by the opposition against strong initial U.S. objections, and the Europeans also forced through the lifting of a ban on air travel to and from Belgrade.

- New York Times

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Section  : International
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