Milosevic Concedes Defeat on TV

B E L G R A D E, Yugoslavia, Oct. 6, 2000 -- After 13 years at the helm of the Yugoslav government, the man who masterminded a wave of Serb nationalism and ushered his people through a series of bloody civil and international wars has conceded defeat.

In a recorded television statement broadcast today, Slobodan Milosevic congratulated President-elect Vojislav Kostunica on his victory in the Sept. 24 presidential elections — a victory Milosevic had previously refused to acknowledge.

And with that calm admission of defeat, the “Butcher of the Balkans” ended an extraordinary week that saw hundreds of thousands of people win control of central Belgrade and seize the parliament building against a backdrop of suspense and euphoria in Yugoslavia.

In the broadcast on a small state-run television network, Milosevic thanked the people who supported him and said he planned to rest before returning to politics sometime later.

“I congratulate Vojislav Kostunica on his election victoryand I wish our nation success over the next term,” said Milosevic, adding that his Socialist Party would be a strong political opponent to the new administration.

The message, broadcast to an estimated 1.5 million homes, was treated with suspicion by a wide variety of Serbians.

Many expressed concerns that Milosevic was just buying time to stage some sort of counterattack.

Earlier today, Kostunica appeared on Serb television and announced Yugoslav authorities had accepted a shift in presidential power. He said he had made contact with armed forces commanders and they had agreed to “obey authority.”

“Don’t worry about the army. The Yugoslav army is our army.”

He spent more than two hours answering people’s questions on television, trying to assuage fears.

People across Serbia watched his message in restaurants, bars. In the streets, people looked into doorways and windows to watch the broadcast.

Army Ready to Work With Kostunica

The Yugoslav army said Saturday that conditions were in place for it to establish a working relationship with Kostunica.

“The army leadership will, after the inauguration of the new president, continue fulfilling its constitutional obligations as before and do everything to continue with its own re-organization and modernization, which has already begun,” the army said in a statement issued by the state news agency Tanjug.

Some opposition leaders had feared that the army would rally to Milosevic’s support after a wave of protests swept Belgrade on Thursday.

Kostunica is expected to be formally inaugurated as president later Saturday.

Milosevic had long counted the army and the courts as supporters of his authoritarian regime.

Russia Reaches Out

Despite lingering fears, celebrations continued on the streets of Belgrade, including open-air concerts, dancing in the streets, horns honking and people leaning out windows, waving their arms and yelling things like “He’s finished, he’s gone!” and “It’s a new Serbia.”

Russia, an important Serb ally, earlier today acknowledged Kostunica as the election winner, taking awayMilosevic’s last hopes for high-level international support.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov met with Kostunica, offering Russian President Vladimir Putin’s good wishes on what Ivanov said was Kostunica’s presidential victory.

Their meeting was broadcast on state television.

“I presented a message from President Vladimir Putin and congratulated Kostunica for his victory in the presidential election,” Ivanov said after the meeting.

The Russian announcement waspromptly welcomed by U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Milosevic had claimed Kostunica did not win enough of a majority in the election, and that a runoff must be held. When the Yugoslav Constitutional Court went further and declared the election results invalid, protesters poured into the streets Thursday and stormed the parliament building.

Clinton: ‘Extraordinary Victory’

In Washington, President Clinton today hailed Yugoslavia’s popular revolt as an “extraordinary victory.”

“First and foremost, this is an extraordinary victory forthe people of former Yugoslavia, who endured oppression anddeprivation … who took their country back with nothing but courage, principal and patriotism,” the president said.

Speaking at the White House Rose Garden, Clinton said the Yugoslav people’s extraordinary uprising must be followed by further action.

“The most important thing is to make sure that this momentis consummated. The president who has been elected should be authoritatively sworn in,” Clinton said, adding that Milosevic should step aside. “It would be a terrible mistake for him to remain active in the political life of the country.”

Returning to Normal

The level of defiance on Thursday was unprecedented in Yugoslavia’s 55-year history since World War II.

The protests were first called by the opposition to protest Milosevic’s refusal to accept Kostunica as the winner of the election, but turned into a riot when news broke that Milosevic would have until the middle of next year to call for new elections.

At first, police tried to subdue the crowd. But the mass of humanity flowing into Belgrade was too much, and soon the parliamentary building and the whole of Belgrade were in the hands of the people.

Kostunica described the day as a great moment in Serb history and said he hoped the U.N.-imposed sanctions imposed on Yugoslavia would be lifted. He declared that France had promised to lift the sanctions at a European Council meeting on Monday.

Once the sanctions are lifted, he said, “Everything will start to be normal — the economic recovery of the country will be like a medicine to our soul.”

ABCNEWS.com’s Dada Jovanovic in Belgrade, Rebecca Cooper in Washington, Sue Masterman in Vienna, Austria, and The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.