Die Presse (Vienna)
July 2, 2001
MONTENEGRO'S SECESSION WOULD BE ACCEPTABLE
by Andreas Schnauder
[Excerpt]
Salzburg/Belgrade -- "They themselves should be placed
behind bars." Serbia's Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic left little
doubt as to what he thinks of the judges of the Yugoslav
Constitutional Court, who first wanted to prevent the Slobodan
Milosevic's extradition. During his first appearance at the World
Economic Forum in Salzburg, he attacked the supreme court, defended his
own procedure, and did not hide the fact that Yugoslavia's
disintegration
would not be a disaster.
Referring to the functioning of the Yugoslav government alliance, he
said: "It is a piece of paper. The constitutional crisis has existed
from the very beginning because Macedonia does not accept the Republic.
Montenegro has blocked everything." Thus, the resignation of the
Socialist National Party of Montenegro from the alliance would be "no
problem," even though the Serbian Prime Minister believes that the party
would return to the government. If a secession should take place, he
would accept that, Djindjic stated.
What is now important is the economic integration of the entire
Balkans, Djindjic stated. He explicitly also mentioned Bulgaria and
Romania in this connection. It is necessary to strengthen this region
through economic cooperation -- specifically in the spheres of energy,
traffic, and trade. Djindjic gave the impression that, by stressing
cooperation in the entire Balkans, cooperation in the rest of Yugoslavia
was no longer so important.
Djindjic rejected criticism of the fact that he ignored the decision
by the supreme judges. "They themselves should be in prison. This is
where they would be in countries with an established legal system."
The
judges are involved in cases of fraud and did not show particular
activities under the Milosevic regime. The Serbian Prime Minister
admitted that Milosevic's extradition was not popular. Yet the
question
was: "Sovereignty or jobs?" and in order to rebuild the ailing
economy and to ensure employment, this step was necessary. If
Milosevic
had not been extradited, he himself would have resigned, Djindjic stated
Serbian News Network - SNN
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