Punish Serbia's Rulers, Not its People

London. 

It is a sobering experience to travel through my country, the "reduced" Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), as I did for three weeks this summer. All over the former Yugoslavia, graveyards are filling with victims of a senseless war. The number of refugees is increasing. Hospitals are running out of supplies. And while the United Nations sanctions are biting in Serbia and Montenegro they aren't hurting those in power. It is paradoxical that Serbians are being punished for the misdeeds of their leaders. After my visit there the government imposed severe restrictions on civil liberties. The people have given ample proof that they are victims of the regime. In the past two months the Serbian Orthodox Church has raised its voice against the regime of Slobodan Milosevic. It has been joined by most members of the Academy of Arts and Sciences, students and faculty of the University of Belgrade and Trade Unions. The real Serbia made a tremendous display of its strength and determination at a rally in Belgrade on June 28, a day after I arrived. The real Serbia was also visible in the faces of thousands of striking students I met in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nis and Kragujevac. 

The Serbian news media are also struggling valiantly, despite the government stranglehold. The independent Television Station Studio B cannot be seen far outside the capital. The newspaper Borba remains free and objective, and a heavy handed attempt by the government to take over Politika newspaper and publishing company, has faltered because of brave editors, reporters and print workers. These people need encouragement and support. The best way to help the people attain peace, democracy and stability would be to send an unambiguous signal that the democratic community of nations of nations is at odds with Mr. Milosevic's regime and not the people. Douglas Hurd, the British Foreign Secretary, made a step in that direction when he met with opposition representatives in Belgrade on July 17. The leaders of the Movement for Democracy should be invited to the European Community peace conference on Yugoslavia that is to take place in London later. A constitutional monarchy is the answer. 

Federation's republics as independent states. 

With this move, the principle of territorial integrity clashed with the principle of self-determination. In the extending recognition to the new republics, the international community supported the right of national self-determination of Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia, but denied it to the Serbs in these regions. The nationalities of Bosnia, for example, include Muslims, Serbs, Croats and Jews who all have equal right to be called Bosnians. 

The country's internal boundaries arbitrarily drawn by Tito in 1945, punished the Serbs by leaving a third of them outside Serbia. Such borders are incompatible with democratic principle because they were never negotiated, let alone ratified by freely elected assemblies. 

A solution that would satisfy the aspirations of virtually all ethnic groups of the former Yugoslavia, except the largest ­ the almost ten million Serbs ­ is bound to fail. It would cause disequilibrium and strife for years. As a first step, the West should keep hammering home the message to the Belgrade authorities that unless the Serbian media are entirely free, the government will not be seen as truly democratic. Only when such conditions are established can free and fair elections take place. 

Such freedom would be an absolute basic tenet of a constitutional monarchy. I have experienced popular acclamation over the last few years, and the Parliament should urgently address the re-establishment of constitutional monarchy, which was illegitimately abolished by Tito in 1945. After five decades of war and dictatorships, the crown would be an optimal solution for the Serbs, but also for the religious and ethnic minorities, which must have equal rights even in the "reduced" Yugoslavia. Only a Serbia at peace with itself, existing as a genuine democracy, upholding religious and ethnic rights, can bring stability to the Balkans. 

No less than half the members of the European Community are constitutional monarchies with impeccable democratic credentials. Does anyone doubt the contribution made by King Juan Carlos to Spain's successful transition from dictatorship to democracy? For all of former Yugoslavia and the world would breath a sigh of relief, Serbia's democrats and advocates of constitutional monarchy should finally be given a chance.