West Had Pressed for Holdover's Ouster
By Daniel Williams
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, June 25, 2002; Page A16
BELGRADE, June 24 -- President Vojislav Kostunica today fired Yugoslavia's
army chief of staff, a holdover from the Slobodan Milosevic era whose continued
presence had been condemned by Western governments. "For the sake of civilian control and for the sake of democracy, I decided to
take the step I took today," Kostunica said on television, explaining his
decision about Gen. Nebojsa Pavkovic. "However great Pavkovic's merits may be .
. . the army now needs a different kind." Pavkovic responded that he "refused" the order but also would not create
problems for his successor. NATO officials had pressed for Pavkovic's removal as a condition for
considering Yugoslavia's participation in the Partnership for Peace program. The
partnership was created during the Clinton administration as a means for East
European countries to stage military maneuvers and coordinate with the alliance
without being a member. NATO's objections to Pavkovic reportedly centered on his command of
Yugoslavia's armed forces during the 1998-99 war in Kosovo, when his army
resisted weeks of NATO bombing. "NATO is not ready to welcome a Kosovo hero of
Yugoslavia into its club," said a Yugoslav political observer. On the other hand, the U.N. war crimes tribunal has not indicted Pavkovic for
his actions in Kosovo, or in earlier ethnic conflicts in Croatia and Bosnia. There were no reports of military movements in support of the ousted
official. Television stations broadcast normal programming, including "The
Simpsons" and rap videos, and traffic moved normally on Belgrade's hilly
streets. In October 2000, Pavkovic was widely credited with keeping the armed forces
in their barracks when mobs assaulted the Yugoslav parliament to protest
Milosevic's efforts to overturn election results that had favored Kostunica. The
unrest forced Milosevic's resignation. After taking power, Kostunica retained Pavkovic in the interest of stability
in the armed forces, Yugoslav political analysts have said. The pair fell out over a murky incident in March in which an army security
official arrested a former general who was meeting with a U.S. diplomat outside
Belgrade, reportedly to pass on war crimes information. Kostunica supported the
arrest, but Pavkovic distanced himself from it. In April, Kostunica announced it was time for a change, and today he ordered
Pavkovic's dismissal. Kostunica appointed Pavkovic's deputy, Branko Krga, to take over. Krga kept a
low profile during the Balkan wars, Western diplomats said, and is acceptable to
NATO as a replacement. Pavkovic told reporters he would "in no way interfere" with Krga. Pavkovic went on television today and complained that he was treated "as if I
was the greatest scum in this state." "Of course, I refused," he added. "And I will not carry out this order." He
blamed Kostunica for bowing to "undemocratic pressure from abroad" and for
taking "personal vengeance" on him. He accused Kostunica of trying to use the
army to raid offices of political enemies. Kostunica is not often accused of bowing to foreign pressure. He has been
reluctant, for example, to authorize cooperation with the war crimes tribunal,
even though the United States has made economic aid conditional on such
help. Kostunica sought to spread responsibility for Pavkovic's ouster today over
Yugoslavia's Supreme Security Council, which includes the presidents of
Montenegro and Serbia, the two Yugoslav republics. The presidents of the
republics, however, demanded that Kostunica fire other generals as well.
