Military

DATE=10/23/00

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-268333 (CQ)

TITLE=SERBIA / GOVERNMENT (L ONLY)

BYLINE=STEFAN BOS

DATELINE=BUDAPEST

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

/// EDS: RE-ISSUING, CORRECTING SPELLING OF ZIZIC IN LAST GRAPH OF TEXT ///

INTRO: The ruling Socialist Party of ousted Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic has agreed to a new transitional government for Yugoslavia's main republic, Serbia. Stefan Bos reports.

TEXT: The agreement came after a stormy session of Serbia's parliament. The Socialist Party accused President Vojislav Kostunica's allies of blackmail for threatening to hold street protests if an agreement was not reached.

In any case, neither Milosevic's Socialist Party nor the allies of President Kostunica got everything they wanted. Under the agreement, Serbia's President Milan Milutinovic, who has been indicted for war crimes by the U-N war crimes tribunal in The Hague, will keep that post until his term expires in 2002.

The Socialists also will keep the post of prime minister of Serbia. But other key ministries, such as police, information, justice, and finance, will be run jointly by the Socialists, President Kostunica's alliance, and another opposition party. The government will stay in office until new elections are held in Serbia December 23rd.

Forming a cabinet in Serbia has been a priority for Mr. Kostunica. Ninety percent of the Yugoslav federation's almost 11-million people live in Serbia.

Analysts is it will be more complicated to form a new national government. One problem is that officials of the other Yugoslav republic, Montenegro, have objected to Mr. Kostunica's plan to name Zoran Zizic as Yugoslavia's next prime minister. Although Mr. Zizic is Montenegrin, he belongs to a party (Socialist Peoples Party) that opposes independence for Montenegro. (Signed)

NEB/SB/KL/JWH