-Caveat Lector- ________________________________________________ A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E http://www.ainfos.ca/ ________________________________________________ Montenegran port tells Yugoslav navy to leave 09:45 a.m. Apr 13, 1999 Eastern By Crispian Balmer BAR, Montenegro, April 13 (Reuters) - Workers at Montenegrois largest commercial port demanded on Tuesday that the Yugoslav Navy pull out after a moored military vessel opened fire on NATO warplanes. Fearful that the action could provoke a retaliatory attack by NATO, the portis managing director Petrasin Kasalica sent a furious letter to the head of the small navy saying he had abused their hospitality. ``You must urgently remove your ships from the port,ii he told Admiral Milan Zec. ``In these circumstances, the port of Bar does not require or need the protection of the navy, especially when it is acting in such a provocative manner.ii The open letter contained a veiled warning that if the boats did not put to sea, dockers might storm them to halt further attacks. Montenegro forms part of the Yugoslav Federation, but its reform-minded government has distanced itself from Belgrade and sought to maintain ties with the West, denouncing Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic as a warmonger. Several hundred dockers gathered in a cavernous waterside warehouse in Bar on Tuesday to protest against Mondayis action, when a small naval vessel fired anti-aircraft canons at NATO warplanes. The managing director of port handling, Dragan Nikezic, told the men that the canons did not have the range to hit the high-flying aircraft, which regularly pass through Montenegrin airspace on their way to sorties in neighbouring Serbia. ``By doing this, our port, our dockers and the citizens of Bar have become a potential target,ii Nikezic said. ``You will endanger both our lives and your own...deprive Yugoslavia of its largest link with the outside world and cause a humanitarian catastropheii The southern Adriatic port of Bar employs some 1,800 people and has carried on operating, albeit at a reduced rate, despite the NATO air strikes on Yugoslavia. The Yugoslav Navy spread its ageing flotilla around Montenegrin harbours before the start of the Westis bombardment and NATO has warned that if any of the ships put to sea they will be destroyed. Officials said four or five military boats were anchored in Bar. The Monday morning salvo was the first time the navy had opened fire on NATO. ``These ships are toys compared to what NATO has,ii Nikezic said. NATO warplanes hit military sites within Montenegro at the start of their air campaign, but the alliance has not targeted the small coastal republic for more than two weeks for fear of destabilising the government. Senior government officials have accused the Yugolsav army of trying to draw NATO fire to whip up anti-Western feeling and undermine President Milo Djukanovic. The dockers applauded loudly as Kasalicis letter was read out at their assembly. ``The workers are deeply embittered,ii the letter said, adding that action had to be taken to avoid ``self-organised groups of workers from taking over your (navy) objects.ii Union leader Zoran Ostojic, speaking in front of a mountainous pile of humanitarian food aid sent by the United States, condemned the NATO air strikes, but said he was determined to save the port. ``The workers of Bar refuse to be mobile targets and the victims of the political games of other people,ii he told the workers. The port, which has a storage capacity of five million tonnes, had to be completely rebuilt following an earthquake in 1979. ``We know what it means to have our port destroyed and how much effort is needed to rebuild it,ii a port spokeswoman said. Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. 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