U.S. policy plays into the hands of ultranationalists.

Something happened in the Balkans that makes us feel chillier than usual this winter.

Despite being on trial at the United Nations tribunal in the Hague on charges of genocide, former President Slobodan Milosevic won his parliamentary seat in Serbia, the largest of the republics in the former Yugoslavia, in recent parliamentary elections.

Even more shocking to outsiders was the fact that the Radical Party, led by Vojislav Seselj, won the largest number of parliamentary seats in the general elections. Seselj, who is also currently standing trial at the Hague tribunal, once commanded a private army that slaughtered non-Serbs in ethnic conflicts in Yugoslavia.

Both Milosevic's Serbian Socialist Party and Seselj's Radical Party propound the policy of a ``Greater Serbia.'' Combined, the two parties would control nearly 40 percent of the 250-seat parliament. In contrast, the democratic parties that drove Milosevic out of power in ``a bloodless coup'' three years ago suffered a major setback.

Among the stated aims of the Radical Party are: incorporating into Serbia an area in Croatia where many Serbs live; returning Serbia's military force and police to the autonomous province of Kosovo, now under United Nations' administration; and ending Serbia's cooperation with the international tribunal.

The conflict in Yugoslavia, which lasted for about 10 years, was finally brought to an end in Kosovo. However, the Radical Party's proposition could undermine the very foundation of the peacemaking efforts that have been made so far.

The democratic parties are trying to maintain their coalition government by fielding former Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica, who played a major part in the bloodless coup, as the candidate for prime minister. But the coalition is a ragtag conglomeration made up of pro-Western parties, moderate nationalists and royalists. In the days ahead, they will have an even more difficult time than before because of the advance of the nationalist groups.

A rapidly increasing number of European countries fear that, as things stand, the Serbs can block their return to the fold of the international community with their own hands and destabilize the Balkans as a whole again.

The Radical Party increased its seats in parliament largely because the ruling coalition of democratic parties has been preoccupied with internal political struggles and has failed to remedy an economy damaged by the armed conflicts in years past. Political corruption is also rampant. The unemployment rate is as high as 30 percent and the average monthly wage of workers is only 200 euros (about 26,000 yen).

The depth of the public's mistrust of politics is borne out by the fact that the head of state is still absent-the three presidential elections held since 2002 were all ruled null and void for failing to attract the number of voters required by law. The democratic parties should take the result of the latest elections seriously.

Furthermore, is it not time for the international community to rethink its Serbia policy? As Serbia has suffered heavy damage from NATO airstrikes, international assistance to Serbia is indispensable. But that needed assistance is held up by the United States, which makes assistance conditional on Serbia's handing over war criminals to the United Nations tribunal in The Hague. The U.S. position hurts the national pride of the Serbian people and has resulted in increasing support for the ultranationalists. Supporting the democratic forces requires provision of flexible and generous assistance.

The armed conflict in Yugoslavia, in which hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives, raised a question for the international community on the need for ``humanitarian intervention by a military power.'' The reconstruction of a country and its democratization are not easy. But unless they are carried out, the rationale for intervention will be called into question. Failure in Serbia will not be tolerated.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 31 (IHT/Asahi: January 3,2004)