>The JUL officials urged Milosevic to ignore the will of the people and
>declare electoral victory "at all cost" . This implied introducing emergency
>measures, provoking unrest and using force to restore order.
Mira Markovic, wife of Milosevic, and head of the tiny JUL, is reported to burst into tears over political questions, which may explain the suggestion in the report that she had had a nervous breakdown this week.
But that is surface phenomena. More significantly, she clearly acts as if she considers the concept of the dictatorship of the proletariat a living principle of marxism.
The suggestions in these reports of an asylum deal are slightly supported by the report today of an apparently bland press release between Germany and Russia.
Putin is repaying the west for the way it is turning a blind eye to the oppression in Chechnya. If he helps to let the Balkans settle down under western hegemony, the Caucuses may be left to Russia's sphere of influence.
It looks as if all these maneouvrings are proceeding with more sophistication than might have been expected.
Chris Burford
London