Vol. 4, No. 31, 28 April 2000
A Twice-Weekly Review of Politics, Media and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Broadcasts in the western Balkans.

Serbs--including embattled leaders--found that Greece was one of the few places to which they could travel and feel welcome. During and after the recent Kosova conflict, Greek public opinion was solidly pro-Serbian. And KFOR convoys moving through Thessaloniki sometimes have to deal with uncooperative hosts as well as with feisty demonstrators.
But it seems that that Athens is now retaking stock of which Serbs it chooses to support. Some 100 delegates representing the Serbian opposition as well as Serbs in Kosova, Bosnia, Croatia, and Montenegro meet on 21 and 22 April in Athens under the sponsorship of Crown Prince Aleksandar Karadjordjevic. Participants agreed to form a Council of Democratic Forces of Serbia under the leadership of Aleksandar and Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Pavle, "Vesti" reported on 25 April.
After the session, opposition leaders met with Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou, who said that from them he "heard a different vision of Serbia, [namely] a democratic one open to the broader European family" of nations, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported.
This did not go unnoticed in Belgrade. There the Foreign Ministry summoned the Greek ambassador for a dressing down.
Among other things, Milosevic's government accused Greece of having organized Aleksandar's gathering, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 25 April. A Greek government spokesman in Athens took issue with the charges. He pointed out that Greece keeps channels open to various actors on the Serbian political scene. He added that this is all part of Greek efforts to help find a solution to the crisis resulting from the collapse of the former Yugoslavia. (Patrick Moore)