World Peace News: Top Stories

Montenegro deeply split ahead of vote
by Dusan Stojanovic

The Associated Press Translate This Article
21 May 2006

BUDVA, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) - Voters are deciding whether to write the final chapter in the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, and the T-shirts show vividly how divided they are.

Sunday's referendum is about whether tiny Montenegro should end its union with big-brother Serbia, and in the Adriatic resort of Budva, vendor Milan Jakic says his red ``da'' (yes) shirts are selling well. ``If you compare the sale of yes and no,'' he says, ``there is no doubt Montenegro will be independent.''

But six miles away in the quiet fishing village of Bigovo, the ``ne'' (no) shirt is doing well, and graffiti painted on a dock says: ``This is not Montenegro, this is Serbia.''

The division, which goes deep into Montenegro's history, has split families, friends, towns and sports fans, and there are fears that whichever way the vote goes, there could be violence.

The last reliable poll, published a month ago before a pre-vote moratorium on polling took effect, showed the independence camp ahead 55.9 percent to 44.1 percent. But 55 percent is needed for the breakup to go ahead, and Damar, the private agency that conducted the survey of 1,001 people April 14-21, put the margin of error at plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The Serbia-Montenegro union is the last shred of the federation formerly known as Yugoslavia that began its blood-drenched breakup in the early 1990s. Now its 620,000 people must decide whether to separate from Serbia, their eight-times-bigger partner.

Once an independent kingdom, Montenegro was erased from the map after World World I, when it merged into the new country, named Yugoslavia a few years later. Some Montenegrins resisted, and scattered violence persisted for seven years. After World War II, Yugoslavia became communist.

During the federation's breakup, Montenegro's leaders sided with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, who would later stand trial for war crimes. But relations soured, and in 1999 Montenegro tacitly backed the U.S.-led NATO war against the Serbian strongman. Now Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, hand-picked for the job by Milosevic when he was just 27, supports ending the so-called ``state union of Serbia and Montenegro.''

``I'm now 17 years wiser,'' he says. ``Politicians make mistakes, and I made mine.''

``The referendum is 'to be or not to be' for Montenegro,'' Djukanovic said. ``Despite our warrior traditions, I don't expect trouble. I hope we have learned our history lessons.''

Predrag Bulatovic, leader of the anti-independence faction, says he'll accept defeat provided the vote is clean. ``In that case, we will shake hands, and I will congratulate them on their victory,'' Bulatovic said. ``If we were to go down the path of instability ... that would be a catastrophe for Montenegro.''

He argues that his small, weak country needs Serbia's embrace. The independence camp says breaking away will boost the economy and speed the country's path to joining other Croatia and Slovenia, also former components of Yugoslavia, in the prosperous European Union.

Montenegro's pro-Serbian vote is strong in northern and rural areas bordering Serbia, where men take pride in brandishing guns and glorifying ancestral comradeship with Serbian fighters.

The hard-line nationalists there have warned that they will secede from Montenegro and join their land to Serbia if the vote goes against them, making the Connecticut-sized country even smaller.

``I can't imagine living without Serbia,'' said Ranko Babic, a battle-scarred Montenegrin in the northern town of Pljevlja who fought in Milosevic's army in neighboring Croatia.

``If Milo and his criminals want their own state, let them have it. But without us.''

Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Global Good News comment:

It is obvious that world peace will be fragile if the element of relationship between nations is based on the man-made concepts of peace and harmony. The knowledge and experience of total Natural Law, which invincibly governs the infinite diversity of the ever-expanding universe, provides the answer.

Read more about Maharishi's Programme to Create World Peace at:

http://maharishi-programmes.globalgoodnews.com/world-peace/index.html

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