Draskovic's daring call prompts hope of peace moves

In what could be a breakthrough in the effort to restore peace to the Balkans, the Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Vuk Draskovic, has called for a UN peacekeeping force in Kosovo under the aegis of a UN Security Council resolution.

This is the first time that a Yugoslav official has accepted the idea of an international armed force in Kosovo, but Mr Draskovic's offer was inevitably overshadowed by his criticism of President Slobodan Milosevic's regime for "lying to the Serb people".

Mr Draskovic's daring remarks were made in an interview on Studio B, a privately owned television station that is close to his Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO). The 53-year-old writer gained wide following as a pacifist and leading political opponent of Mr Milosevic since 1991. He was jailed twice, but his former "democratic" allies felt betrayed when Mr Draskovic and his party entered the Milosevic coalition last year.

A proponent of free market economics, constitutional monarchy and Yugoslav membership of the EU, Mr Draskovic is seen by some Western-oriented Serbs as a possible successor to Mr Milosevic.

Serbs wondered yesterday whether he spoke as a mouthpiece of the US and NATO, or as a messenger for Mr Milosevic. Prof Predrag Simic, an adviser to Mr Draskovic, insisted that he spoke only as a bold politician who "wants to bridge the gap between Yugoslavia and the international community". Mr Draskovic represents those Yugoslavs "who want to avoid a deeper conflict with NATO and find a solution," Mr Simic said.

Whatever Mr Draskovic's motives, his statements were quickly seized upon by NATO as evidence of political disarray in Serbia.

NATO's resolve "contrasts starkly wih the cracks now appearing in Milosevic's regime," the British Defence Secretary, Mr George Robertson, said, adding that Mr Draskovic's television appearance "blows a hole in the facade of Belgrade's unity."

The NATO spokesman, Mr Jamie Shea, also began his briefing yesterday with a precis of Mr Draskovic's comments. However, Mr Robertson and Mr Shea avoided any mention of Mr Draskovic's condemnation of NATO bombing, which he blamed for killing more than 500 civilians, destroying $70 billion worth of property and sowing hatred between Serbs and Albanians.

Nor did the briefers in London and Brussels quote Mr Draskovic's assertion that Serbs "amazed the whole world" by enduring 33 days of bombardment.

Mr Draskovic said that 19th-century concepts of sovereignty were outdated and "the United Nations are not occupation forces in any country.

"Yugoslavia was one of the founders of the UN . . . We can recognise the Yugoslav flag in the UN banner."

The Yugoslav people "were misled by claims since the war started that . . . NATO will split, that clashes between the EU and the US are great," Mr Draskovic said. Although Mr Robertson and Mr Shea quoted his statement that "NATO is becoming stronger", they neglected his remarks that the war on Yugoslavia had "enabled NATO to dominate Europe" and that "it is important that the UN place this machinery under strict control".

Serbs must "grasp reality", Mr Draskovic said. "People leading the state must clearly tell the people . . . what will be left of Serbia in 20 days if this continues." In an allusion to the extreme right-wing Serb nationalist politician, Mr Vojislav Seselj, Mr Draskovic added: "I do not believe that the ones standing on bridges and provoking a third World War are highly intelligent. They keep lying that Russia is about to start a third World War. As Chirac [the French President] says, this would be the last war."

Mr Draskovic also chastised state-run media for conveying the illusion that the world supports Yugoslavia. "Public opinion is almost unanimous against us, but that is concealed here," he said. "Let's tell people the truth . . . We are alone."

Mr Draskovic quoted a statement by Mr Milosevic's Socialist Party of Serbia that no country could be more democratic, freer or safer than Yugoslavia. "Are they sane?" he asked.

Among excesses committed by the Serbian media, Mr Draskovic cited a broadcaster who suggested that three US prisoners of war should be taken to Branko Bridge in Belgrade and roasted on spits.

"I demanded these people be taken off the air," he said. "For these people shame Serbia and our traditions. Serbs do not roast people."

A US Army Apache attack helicopter crashed on a training mission at Albania's Tirana airport last night but the two crewmen escaped from the wreckage, a Pentagon official said.

Mr Draskovic announced late yesterday that a major from the Yugoslav Army had "taken over" control of his Studio B Television. He said that if Mr Milosevic tries to shut down the station he will call on his supporters to protest in the streets today. Studio B continued to broadcast last night.