HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK ---------------------------
AFP. 25 December 2001. First year without Milosevic may be the last for Yugoslavia. BELGRADE -- Yugoslavia's first year without former president Slobodan Milosevic in power may be its last, as Montenegro's leaders remain firm in their call for independence from the rump Yugoslav Federation. The tiny republic of Montenegro is Serbia's last remaining partner in the federation after the collapse of the former communist federal state in 1991. But relations between the two republics have deteriorated since Milo Djukanovic was elected as Montenegrin president in 1998. Djukanovic, once embraced by western leaders as a counterweight to Milosevic, gradually distanced the tiny mountainous republic on the Adriatic coast from Belgrade. But since Milosevic's ouster in October last year, and his replacement with a reformist administration led by Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica, Djukanovic pressed on with his policy, promising a referendum on independence early next year. The West, however, which earlier praised Djukanovic and Montenegro for its pro-Western stance during the rule of the Milosevic regime, has had a change of heart, warning against independence. The European Union's foreign policy chief Javier Solana hit out at Montenegro's separatist goals, insisting that EU officials "do not support breaking apart the federation." "Maintaining the reformed federation is what we support," Solana said during a recent visit to Belgrade. "Any alternative would be worse." And French President Jacques Chirac, the first Western head of state to visit Yugoslavia since Milosevic's ouster, said in December that "any break would entail more drawbacks than advantages." But for Djukanovic and his allies, there is no way back from the pro-independence drive they have been nourishing for more than three years. "Eighteen times bigger Serbia, no matter who is in power, will never have sensibility and understanding for Montenegro's needs," Djukanovic said. For Djukanovic's regime, the federal state exists only on paper. Only the pro-Belgrade Montenegrin opposition -- supported by almost half of the republic's population of 650,000 -- is represented in the federal institutions, due to Djukanovic's boycott. Montenegro has replaced the Yugoslav dinar with the German mark and maintains its own foreign policy in the republic. The Yugoslav army is the only federal institution which still has a presence in Montenegro. Due to Djukanovic's boycott, Serbia's reformers were pushed into an uneasy alliance with the Montenegrin opposition Socialist People's party (SNP) -- until last year partnered with Milosevic -- in order to form institutions on the federal level. Without the SNP's support, Serbia's reformers were unable to push through any legal act needed to change Milosevic's legacy, as was the case in June, prior to his extradition to The Hague tribunal, when the Montenegrins refused to back a law on cooperation with the UN war crimes court. The SNP has been firmly opposed to Djukanovic's moves, condemning his stance that Serbia and Montenegro should separate into two internationally-recognized independent states, which might later form a loose alliance. Belgrade officials also oppose independence, proposing instead a redefinition of relations within the federation. After Solana's visit, Belgrade and Podgorica agreed to launch talks on a range of contentious issues such as security, the economy, trade and foreign affairs. Experts from the Serbian, Montenegrin and Yugoslav governments are due to begin discussing the issues, but even Kostunica, whose job is in question if the federation breaks, says he has little hope for success in the talks. "I do not believe there are hopes for dialogue," Kostunica said, estimating that the disputed issue would "end with Montenegro expressing its will" on the referendum on independence of the tiny republic. Montenegro itself is sharply divided on the issue, with about 45 percent backing each option and 10 percent undecided, as a number of surveys have shown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
