BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) — President Vojislav Kostunica accused Serbia's government on Friday of incompetence and failure to tackle rising crime and corruption, as a dispute within Yugoslavia's new leadership worsened.
The criticism reflected growing tensions between the key architects of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's ouster last year.
Kostunica's comments came just days after his Democratic Party of Serbia pulled out of the government of Serbia, Yugoslavia's larger republic, triggering the Balkan nation's worst political crisis since Milosevic was removed from power in October.
At a news conference Friday, Kostunica's criticism was directed mainly at the government of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic.
Kostunica said Yugoslavia must find who is responsible "for countless unsolved murder cases, for abductions, smuggling, for slowness and lack of reforms ... for a fall in the living standard, for a looming energy crisis."
He insisted on an "urgent" investigation of the murder of a state security officer gunned down shortly after visiting the president's office earlier this month. Kostunica said the officer had offered to expose certain crime bosses and corrupt policemen.
Disagreements between Kostunica and Djindjic include diverging views of Milosevic's extradition to the U.N. war crimes tribunal. Both agreed Milosevic was guilty of ruinous rule, but Kostunica insisted the June extradition to the Netherlands-based court was unconstitutional. Djindjic argued it was justified because the extradition opened the way for Western financial assistance.
The rift within the new leadership is likely to slow reforms in the country, which faces enormous economic problems following years of misrule by Milosevic.
If the disagreement yields a governmental collapse and early elections, pledges of international investment could also be delayed.
Djindjic has rejected Kostunica's accusations, including allegations he has personal ties with those implicated in cigarette smuggling rings and other illegal activities.
Kostunica accused Serbia's Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic, among others, of being "either unwilling or incompetent" to crack down on crime.
After Kostunica made his comments, Mihajlovic announced a $140,000 reward fund to boost efforts to solve 22 unresolved murders and abductions of prominent politicians, business and underworld leaders carried out in recent years.
The Serbian justice minister, Vladan Batic, called Kostunica's allegations "completely arbitrary and malicious" and said they aimed to destabilize the government in revenge for its extradition of Milosevic.
Batic also accused Kostunica of trying to protect some key figures from Milosevic's regime who are now being investigated or detained.
On Thursday, Kostunica called for a resolution of the dispute between Serbia and tiny Montenegro, which is led by a government that wants to break away from Yugoslavia.
"We must resolve the situation, one way or another," Kostunica told reporters. "We can't make the necessary changes in Serbia's constitution until it's clear whether Serbia will be an independent state or remain part of the (Yugoslav) federation with Montenegro."