Montenegro's
chance
Alexsandar Djurisic believes the time has come for Montenegro to declare independence from Yugoslavia and bring about further breakup of a country cobbled together from ashes of the Austro-Hungarian empire.
Mr. Djurisic, a member of the Montenegrin parliament, cited the downfall of Yugoslav strongman Slobodan Milosevic and public opinion polls showing a majority favor independence as "new opportunities" for one of the two remaining republics in Yugoslavia.
On a recent visit to Washington, Mr. Djurisic told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that "the price was too high" for Montenegro to have declared independence in the 1990s when Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia fought bloody wars to separate from the Serbian-dominated federation.
Now Mr. Milosevic is facing war crimes charges, and a democratic government rules in Belgrade. In addition, a December poll found that more than 55 percent of Montenegrins favored independence, he said.
Mr. Djurisic said supporters of the current Yugoslav federation of Serbia and Montenegro encourage voters to boycott a proposed referendum on independence.
"That's the only way they can control their electorate. They don't trust their supporters," he said.
Mr. Djurisic dismissed critics who argued that Montenegro would not be an economically viable country.
"No one has yet claimed that remaining in the [Yugoslav] federation would improve Montenegro's economic situation. Even if such a promise were made, few Montenegrins would believe it," he said.
