Yugoslavia: Military Acknowledges Constitution

Belgrade, 18 October 2000 (RFE/RL) - Yugoslav Defense Minister General Dragoljub Ojdanic has ruled out any chance that the military will try to remove new President Vojislav Kostunica by force. In a TV intervie, he said the armed forces would act according to the Yugoslav Constitution. He said military chiefs now consider Kostunica the supreme commander.

Ojdanic was appointed by ousted President Slobodan Milosevic and like Milosevic, has been indicted for war crimes by the international tribunal.

Kostunica, meanwhile, failed yesterday to persuade Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic to participate in the new Yugoslav federal government.

Djukanovic said he would not take part in any federal institutions until after Montenegro and Serbia, the dominant republic in Yugoslavia, redefine their partnership on a more equitable basis. But the Montenegrin side said it believed problems could be solved through talks.