William Helms: “it is clear that a fair vote count in this weekend's elections will result in victory for the candidate of the…”

“it is clear that a fair vote count in this weekend's elections will result in victory for the candidate of the opposition forces. Mr. Vojislav Kostunica. The people of Yugoslavia clearly have voted for democratic change, and the time has come for Yugoslavia's brutal dictator, Slobodan Milosevic, to have the decency to accept the will of his people and leave office peacefully. Not surprisingly, Milosevic has indicated he intends to do no such thing. I fully expect him to do everything in his power to steal this election to enable him to remain in power. In order to support the majority of Serbs who voted for peace and democracy, I urge my colleagues to support the Serbia Democratization Act--legislation that I introduced more than 18 months ago--designed to undermine the murderous Milosevic regime and thereby support democratic change in Serbia. The Serbia Democratization Act calls for the United States to identify and give aid to the democratic forces in Serbia opposing Milosevic's tyranny, including independent media and non-governmental organizations in Serbia. And it makes clear that unless and until there is a democratic government in Yugoslavia, the United States will maintain the sanctions that we have in place today.”