Joe Biden: “on another matter which relates to another form of human rights, I wish to speak to the legislation we are going to…”

“on another matter which relates to another form of human rights, I wish to speak to the legislation we are going to bring up tomorrow, the Serbian Democratization Act of 2000. I am an original cosponsor of this legislation. I am told that tomorrow we are going to get a chance to deal with this issue. As everyone knows, Slobodan Milosevic is on the ropes. Despite Milosevic's massive systematic effort to steal Sunday's Yugoslav Presidential election, his state election commission had to admit that the opposition candidate Vojislav Kostunica won at least the plurality of the votes already counted; 48.22 percent to be exact. According to opposition poll watchers, Kostunica in all probability actually won about 55 percent of the vote, which would have obviated the need for a two-candidate second-round runoff with Milosevic, which now seems likely. It is still unclear whether the democratic opposition will go along with this semi-rigged, desperation plan of Milosevic's to hang on by rigging the runoff. Even if Milosevic loses the runoff and is forced to recognize the results of the election, he may still attempt to hold on to the levers of power through his control of the federal parliament and of the Socialist Party with its network of political cronies and corrupt businessmen.”