BY JANINE DI GIOVANNI IN BERANE CORPORAL DINO has a killer's eyes. Cold, impassive, the 22-year-old soldier with the Yugoslav Army's 7th Battalion declares that he is prepared to do whatever is necessary to keep Montenegro from gaining independence. "Montenegro is the land of Serbian forefathers," he said, echoing his hero Slobodan Milosevic's words. The President considers the tiny republic to be Yugoslavia's last stand. Corporal Dino said: "It belongs to Yugoslavia. If they try to leave, it will be violent, and the time is coming, the time is now." The fear of residents in Podgorica, Montenegro's capital, that the 7th Battalion and paramilitary groups will trigger violence after Sunday's presidential elections appears to be borne out by the attitude and action of Corporal Dino. Last night he and his friends started taking up posts, some of them inside the capital. He described the situation as "hot, we're in something like red alert". Even if President Milosevic is re-elected - which seems likely given his determination to cling to power - Corporal Dino admits that "something will still happen". He said: "We are not happy with Djukanovic [the Montenegrin President] being in power, there is a 60-40 chance that we will act." Officials in Podgorica believe the ultimate goal of the battalion is to split the town, surround the presidential palace, cut off water, electricity, television and telephone, and fend off attacks from Nato as well as President Djukanovic's loyal military police. Corporal Dino's outfit, the 7th Battalion of the Yugoslav Military Police Army, to give its full title, is a shadowy group formed after the Nato bombing last year. Operating from a headquarters in Berane, many members are former criminals and the most brutal veterans of the war in Kosovo. Although Corporal Dino says that they are officially led by General Milorad Obradovic, head of the Yugoslav Second Army, they are in reality a paramilitary force, according to Radomir Sekulovic, a senior adviser to the Montenegro Government. He said: "They are not recruited in the normal way - conscripted by the law in Yugoslavia. They are also paid more for their work than members of similar army structures. They can do whatever they want." Many of the men are former members of paramilitary groups, such as the Tigers led by the late Arkan in the Bosnian war, the Wolves and Frenki's - the group led by Frenki Simatovic - which inflicted some of the horrific atrocities in Kosovo. Since early summer, as President Djukanovic got closer to the West, their numbers have increased, with estimates of between 1,200 and 2,000 men. Corporal Dino said their numbers were closer to 2,000. All of them are heavily armed and highly trained. They train for 12 hours a day from 6 am to 6 pm. "My unit has been getting special training from some of Frenki's guys," said Corporal Dino, describing them as "really good instructors". The soldier is not supposed to talk to outsiders, and very few have come in contact with anyone from the 7th Battalion. But he came forward because he wanted to explain himself. Although he was not wearing his army fatigues - so as to make himself inconspicuous during the secret meeting - his posture and his expression were still menacing. He was not ashamed to admit what he and his friends - who have joined him here in Montenegro - did during the Kosovo war. "I did kill people," he said, focusing his icy stare. "Yes I did. It's like having sex, the first time, you don't know what to do, the second time, it's better. Afterwards you know what to do." The Kosovo war was a good time for him. As an infantry soldier in Prizren, he burnt houses and shot Kosovo Liberation Army soldiers and those he claimed were "spies". At close range? "Yes, at close range," he snapped. He bristled at the mention of the civilians killed. "Just because someone is wearing street clothes doesn't mean they are civilians," he stated defensively. "There were spies everywhere." When the Serb forces withdrew he felt angry because he believed that the Serbs had won the war and the politicians were making them leave Kosovo. He was also furious because he could no longer vent his frustration. On returning home to Belgrade he began working as a bodyguard to an underworld personality, whom he would not name. A friend from his military days then told the soldier about joining the 7th Battalion. He said that when he was a child, he yearned to be a pilot like Tom Cruise in Top Gun, but he failed the test because of his poor teeth so he was lured to Kosovo and now to Montenegro. He said he was being paid DM400 (�122) a month. The repeat of a Sarajevo-like siege in which civilians become targets is a terrifying vision for many Montenegrins, who want to distance themselves as much as possible from Belgrade. But here in the north of Montenegro the people are hard and unrelenting and intent on keeping Montenegro a part of the Yugoslav Federation. This is the town where President Milosevic, their hero, rallied last week. This is a poor region, a world away from the semi-sophistication of Podgorica, which has a languid Mediterranean air and prides itself on its imported - often smuggled - Italian clothes and cars. Corporal Dino's parting words carried an edge of menace. "I'm telling you, to be polite," he said. "Get out of Podgorica. It may not happen right away, but it will. And you don't want to be here when it happens." _______________________________________________ Crashlist resources: http://website.lineone.net/~resource_base To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/crashlist
