His statement, just a day after both sides agreed to a cease-fire, indicated that a plan to resolve the state's ethnic, political and economic disputes had gone off the rails less than 18 hours after it was accepted.; The ultimatum also appeared to confirm Slovenian fears that the army is acting outside government control in its effort to subjugate the secessionist republic. The independent television station Yutel quoted a federal official as saying the government did not approve of the military statement.; Earlier Saturday evening, Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic forced yet another delay in the election of Stipe Mesic, a Croat, as president of Yugoslavia.; Mesic election was key; Mesic's election was the political keystone in the peace plan, which also called for the federal troops in Slovenia to return to the barracks and for a three-month delay by the breakaway republics of Slovenia and Croatia in carrying out their independence declarations.; Slovenia refused Saturday night to send a representative to Belgrade for a meeting of the eight-member Yugoslav presidency. Such a meeting might have resolved the leadership vacuum in the federal government.; Preparations for hostilities were widespread.; The Tanjug news agency reported that 200,000 Serbs were expected to join a territorial militia in Serbia, the biggest Yugoslav republic, which opposes independence for Slovenia and Croatia, and Negovanovic said Croatia had ordered a mobilization of its "police" reserves.; Urgent legislative meeting; Slovenia's parliament was called into emergency session after a 12-point list of demands from the army was presented to republic leaders, insisting that all impediments to federal army operations be removed as part of a Western-brokered cease-fire.; The peace package was assembled by federal Prime Minister Ante Markovic, brokered by an emergency mission of the European Community and accepted by the leaders of Slovenia and Croatia, as well as Serbia.; But Saturday night Markovic charged that Slovenia's President Milan Kucan had "torpedoed" the plan by insisting that the moratorium on independence had to be approved by his parliament to take effect.; Condition upon condition; Milosevic, seizing on Kucan's statement, insisted that Serbia would not allow Mesic to become president in the normal rotation until the Slovenian and Croatian parliaments agreed to the moratorium.; The Slovenian government charged the army with repeated breaches of the cease-fire and demanded the surrender of army units and installations that Slovenian forces had surrounded and cut off since the fighting began Thursday.; At the end of the day, the maneuvering by all three republics ensured a prolongation of the crisis that has deprived the country of a civilian commander in chief for more than six weeks and effectively left the army to make its own moves.; Kucan all but ruled out the chances of negotiating the return of Slovenia to Yugoslavia.; 'No way back'; "There is no way back from Slovenian independence," he told reporters in Ljubljana. "I cannot foresee Slovenia becoming a part of Yugoslavia in a democratic way. The only possibility in this connection is her forced annexation."; The Yugoslav army appeared to be beefing up its military presence in Slovenia, sending additional tanks across Croatia toward Slovenia and dispatching two warships from Split, in Croatia, to the port of Koper, in Slovenia. The Slovenian defense forces continued efforts to recapture border posts and said they had several under their control.; Casualties mount; At least 40 people were killed in the first two days of fighting in Slovenia, including 20 federal army soldiers, four Slovenian fighters and 12 civilians, said Janez Jansa, the Slovenian defense minister. He estimated that the toll might actually be twice as high.; Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital, was an armed camp, where armed civilians and territorial guards stopped people at random and demanded identification cards. Driving across the republic, which is about the size of Maryland, was difficult because of checkpoints by territorial guards, barricades of trucks or the wrecks of Slovenian vehicles destroyed by Yugoslav government tanks.; Croatia digs in; The situation also seemed to be deteriorating in Croatia, which announced that it was halting all contributions to the central government and would send no more recruits to the federal army.; In Zagreb, the Croatian capital, federal military aircraft flew low, and federal garrisons stood on full alert. Croatian peasants, fearing a surprise attack, reportedly hid in the woods near the Slovenian border 50 miles north of the capital.; Croatian President Franjo Tudjman said his republic was not hoping for a fight but was ready if need be. "We do not want to cut all links with other republics," he said. "But if we are attacked, we will respond."; Austria and Hungary sent armored units to the Slovenian border, describing the action as precautionary.; The crisis evoked further expressions of anguish from foreign leaders, and for the first time a high-placed U.S. official hinted that the administration may be weighing the possibility of recognizing Croatia and Slovenia. "The president and the secretary (of state) have never said 'never,' " Deputy Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger said in a television interview.; The State Department said Saturday that U.S. dependents at its consulate in Zagreb, Croatia's capital, were being allowed to leave Yugoslavia. The only other U.S. diplomatic post in Yugoslavia is in Belgrade, the federal capital.; The State Department made the announcement a day after urging Americans in Slovenia and Croatia to leave as soon as they could and suggesting that Americans defer non-essential travel to Yugoslavia until the tensions subside.
On Friday, Serbia, Slovenia and Croatia agreed to a European-Community-brokered cease-fire that called for federal troops in Slovenia to return to barracks, a three-month delay in carrying out Slovenia's and Croatia's independence declarations, and installation of the Croatian federal president. Slovenian insistence on approval by its parliament caused Serbian president Mesic to delay the installation. On Saturday the Yugoslav army ordered Slovenia to halt attacks against federal forces or face decisive military action, confirming fears that the army is acting outside government control. Preparations for hostilities are widespread. Fighting killed 40 people. Deputy Secretary of State Eagleburger said the US might consider recognizing Croatia and Slovenia.