Socialist mutiny against Yugoslav Left domination

BELGRADE, Monday -- A number of senior Socialist Party of Serbia officials have threatened to resign from the party over its increasing kow-towing to the Yugoslav United Left, Belgrade daily Glas javnosti writes today. Quoting "excellently-informed" sources, the paper reports that a number of respected Socialists have raised their voices against the practice of the Left dictating personnel policy within the Socialist Party. Some of these were enraged by the fact that almost half of the candidates nominated for this month's elections by the Socialist-Left coalition came from the Yugoslav Left, the paper wrote, adding that one senior official had already resigned his portfolio in the government over the issue. The director of the Yugoslav Left is the wife of Slobodan Milosevic, Mirjana Markovic. Milosevic himself heads the Socialists.

The Democratic Opposition of Serbia claims today that senior Socialist Party official Zoran Lilic has resigned from all his positions in the party. Lilic was president of Yugoslavia before stepping down from the office in 1997 to make way for the then president of Serbia, Slobodan Milosevic, to move to the federal position. After failing to win the presidency of Serbia in elections that year he became a special adviser to Milosevic.

Radio B2-92 has been unable to confirm this information. A phone call to Lilic's office yielded the information that he was on a short vacation.

Source: B92

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