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White House Report, Thursday, September 28, 2000

(Clinton/Kok/Serbia, Cabinet Meeting, Peru/Fujimori) (650)
CLINTON, KOK: SANCTIONS AGAINST SERBIA SHOULD END ONCE DEMOCRACY
RETURNS
NATO economic sanctions against Serbia should be lifted once a
democratically elected government is installed in Belgrade, President
Clinton said September 29 in remarks in a Sepember 28 press
availability in the Rose Garden with Prime Minister Wim Kok of the
Netherlands.
"I think we should all say, in unequivocal terms, as soon as there is
democratic government there, the sanctions should be lifted," Clinton
said.
"It's clear the people prefer" Vojislav Kostunica, the opposition
candidate, to the incumbent, Clinton said.
Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic has refused to recognize the
opposition candidates apparent victory in the September 24 elections,
and has called for an October 8 runoff.
The State Election Commission said Kostunica earned 48.96 percent of
the vote to 38.62 percent for Milosevic, but opposition poll watchers
said Kostunica won 52.54 percent of the vote, compared to 32.01
percent for Milosevic.
Clinton acknowledged the conflicting figures, but said he is more
inclined to believe the opposition.
"The opposition had people in each of the polling places, and they
produced some pretty persuasive documentation that they won, Mr.
Kostunica won," Clinton said. "And the national election council had
no opposition representation, met in secret and has not documented its
results."
"Even they certify 49-38," percent, Clinton said, "and that's a pretty
huge margin of victory in a national election."
He said "the case the opposition made based on their actual numbers,
polling place to polling place, was pretty persuasive, especially
since it hasn't been refuted by the national commission."
Prime Minister Kok agreed with Clinton's assessment of the vote, and
said he also believes the sanctions should be removed.
"That double message should be very clear," Kok said. "The people
said, 'We want to get rid of Milosevic.' And we say as soon as there
will be a new leadership, the sanctions will be over."
Kok, on an official working visit to Washington, held talks, mainly on
Yugoslavia, in the Oval Office, and then the two leaders had lunch
together.
Later, White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart was asked about the
Serbian election at his daily press conference.
He said "the message" Clinton and Kok were conveying in their Rose
Garden remarks was "that all credible reports are that the opposition
clearly won the election, and the results of the election should be
heeded by all parties."
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)