Parliament approves constitutional changes to prolong Milosevic's rule

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia - A parliament dominated by allies of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic approved constitutional changes Thursday that strengthen his already iron grip on power and weaken Montenegro, the smaller partner in the Yugoslav federation.

Montenegrin leaders expressed outrage at the actions. One said ''Yugoslavia was erased today,'' and another declared this would push pro-Western Montenegro toward full independence.

''Since this amounts to the constitution of a new country, Montenegro is now forced into making inevitable moves,'' said Miodrag Vukovic, a senior adviser to Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic. ''In the next few days, Montenegro will adopt laws which will wrap up its independence in all fields.''

Milosevic served as president of Serbia, the dominant Yugoslav republic, before becoming Yugoslav president in 1997 by vote of parliament. Under the law, he could not seek a second term when his expired in July 2001.

But the first amendment passed Thursday calls for the Yugoslav president to be elected by popular vote and thereby would allow Milosevic to run for the presidency again.

Both chambers of the Yugoslav parliament are dominated by Milosevic allies. The lower house passed the amendment 95-7, while in the upper chamber the vote was 27-0.

The second amendment passed Thursday calls for direct election of deputies to the upper chamber of the Yugoslav parliament.

Currently, the upper house includes 20 deputies from Serbia and 20 from Montenegro, all chosen by both republics' parliaments. If the deputies are directly elected, Montenegrin candidates would stand little chance of winning - their republic has only 600,000 people, compared with Serbia's 10 million.

Milosevic's allies, however, argued that direct election confers ''the greatest possible democratic legitimacy'' on the presidency.

''This is in the interest of the citizens of Serbia and Montenegro and our joint state,'' Milutin Stojkovic, a deputy from Milosevic's ruling Socialist Party, said during parliamentary debate.

Ivica Dacic, a top official in Milosevic's party, made no secret of Milosevic's apparent intention to run again. ''Slobodan Milosevic has always won in all elections where people chose directly,'' he said.

But an opposition deputy, Vladeta Jankovic, told parliament that ''instead of us all respecting the constitution, we are having the whole constitution adjusted to serve the interests of one man.''

In Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher criticized the electoral changes.

''There appears to be a grotesque effort under way by Milosevic to stifle prospects for democratic, peaceful change in Yugoslavia,'' he said.

''It reveals his own fears. He's changing the rules because he cannot win fairly now. He's stripping away legal formalities behind which he has hidden. And the choice, we think, for the people of Serbia and for his coalition is stark. It's either him or democracy in Serbia.''

Although Milosevic's popularity is believed to have plummeted since last year's NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, he is still in full control of the media and state institutions, diminishing chances for a fair election race.

Dacic dismissed protests from opponents as ''their fear of election results. They know Milosevic will win.''

Milosevic has been indicted by an international war crimes tribunal for atrocities committed during his crackdown in Kosovo province, which triggered last year's 78-day NATO bombing campaign. Staying in power would be his best guarantee against prosecution.

Saying ''Milosevic wants to rule forever,'' the opposition Democratic Alternative asserted that the president ''is wrong if he thinks ... the constitutional changes would guarantee asylum and continuation of his rule.''

Montenegro's leadership has already taken several steps toward independence from Yugoslavia, but the republic's reformist leadership has refrained from declaring a full separation. There are widespread fears that Milosevic, who started four Balkan wars, would intervene militarily in Montenegro if it declares outright independence.

The Montenegrin parliament was scheduled to meet Friday to discuss the changes.

''Montenegro has to defend itself from such an attack,'' said Predrag Popovic, the Montenegrin parliament speaker. ''Yugoslavia was erased today and such a move can cost all of us dearly.''