>From: "Gregory Elich" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: British SAS Training Djukanovic's secessionist army >Date: Sun, 30 Jul 2000 11:19:21 -0400 > >The Independent (UK) > >We have the heart for battle, says Montenegrin trained by SAS >By Phil Rees in Podgorica >30 July 2000 >An officer from Montenegro's Special Police, the Spezijalni, has >described the role of the SAS in training the force. Tensions between >Montenegro and Serbia - the last republics remaining in the Yugoslav >federation - are likely to be stretched even nearer to breaking point >by the revelations. >The 15,000-strong force will be the front line of defence if the >Yugoslav president, Slobodan Milosevic, attempts to oust the separatist >Montenegrin president, Milo Djukanovic, and replace him with a leader >loyal to the union with Serbia. >The presence in Montenegro of the Seventh Battalion of the Yugoslav >army, which has been busy recruiting there, raises the prospect of a >bitter fratricidal war on Montenegrin soil between the pro- and >anti-Milosevic camps. >Sparked by Mr Djukanovic's increasing threats to break away, the Seventh >Battalion keeps an ever-watchful eye on its Montenegrin counterparts. >But British involvement in the republic, in the shape of the SAS, may >have escaped the gaze of the black-bereted recruits to the Yugoslav >force. >The revelation comes amid an increasing sense of doom in Montenegro, >following the announcement by Mr Milosevic that he will seek re-election >as Yugoslav president in polls in late September. An internal EU >analysis recently predicted that Mr Milosevic would most probably win at >least another four years in office. >In the grounds of the Hotel Zlatica, now converted into a barracks on >the outskirts of Montenegro's capital, Podgorica, Velibor, 23, an >experienced officer in the Spezijalni, spoke of his time with the >British unit: "It was great. We learnt a lot. Some of the techniques >they use are different to ours." >The threat from fellow countrymen in the Seventh Battalion is treated >very seriously: "If somebody wants to harm our country, you have to >shoot him. It doesn't matter if it's your friend or your father or your >brother. My best friend - or he used to be, he joined the army and I >joined the police - told me 'brother, it's better for me to shoot you >because then you can't shoot me'." >Velibor stands well over 6ft tall, as do most of the officers in the >�lite unit of the Special Police - seemingly in contrast to their >SAS tutors. "They told us 'You have very big guys here... we are all >small guys and we like to run, and you all like to lift weights.' We >were very strange to them." >The Special Police has a fierce reputation in Montenegro - its gung-ho >approach seemingly unsettling the SAS. "They thought we were crazy. When >two of us banged into a house and started shooting into walls, bullets >were flying around and they said 'Oh, it's a real gun, real bullets? >You're crazy guys, you don't have protection'. But we have a heart, we >don't have protection but we have a heart. A big heart." >The role of the SAS in Montenegro is highly sensitive, with the Special >Police seen as a challenge from inside Yugoslavia to Mr Milosevic. His >supporters have regularly claimed that "foreign forces" are arming and >training the Spezijalni. Montenegro's government officially denies any >involvement by foreign nations in the training or arming of the police. >The SAS training includes hostage rescue. A key scenario played out by >the anti-terrorist unit of the Spezijalni is how to react to an >attempted coup by forces loyal to Mr Milosevic. >The Seventh Battalion, all Montenegrin, whose largest contingent is >based near the northern town of Bijelo Polje, has been recruiting in >numbers for the past six months. >Ivan, a softly spoken man in his late thirties, fought for the Yugoslav >army during the wars that ripped Yugoslavia apart in the 1990s. He was >under the orders of Mr Milosevic then and would continue to follow his >orders now. >"If Djukanovic calls for a referendum or moves in any other violent way >towards independence, the Seventh Battalion will follow the orders of >the president. If there is a situation where weapons will decide the >outcome, we are ready. We are training for that." >Mr Djukanovic describes the Seventh Battalion as a "paramilitary force". >"Mr Milosevic has always formed groups with the aim of provoking >internal conflicts," he says. > >Phil Rees presents 'Crossing Continents' on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday 3 >August at 11am, and 'Correspondent' on BBC2 next Saturday at 6.50pm ------------------------------------------------------------ Nettaxi.com in the News ((( Video by ON24 ))) http://vuwin.on24.com/vuwindow/scripts/vuwin.asp?id=30279&type=av&ref=NTX&cb=NTX ��!�+-����x%��B��!�+-�+-� )��b�(�*ڲb�� n��zm���y�"��b��'zw�������y��y: ���{*.��m��좻����r��z -�m����l� nnX���&�f��f��X��)ߣ�+j�e��
