As Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic announced elections for September 24, Human Rights Watch cautioned against growing repression of opposition figures and independent media.
In testimony delivered yesterday before the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, Human Rights Watch researcher Bogdan Ivanisevic predicted that the increasingly unpopular Milosevic regime would step up repressive tactics as elections near. "Milosevic and his government face a sharp decline in support," Ivanisevic reported. "For the first time since 1990, it is possible that Milosevic and his allies could lose the elections. And they have responded with a brutal crackdown against their critics that we fear will escalate in the coming weeks."
