May 24, 2006
Balkanized, again
Balkanized, again
Mirjana Tomic International Herald Tribune
TUESDAY, MAY 23, 2006
MADRID I heard the news about Montenegro's independence in Spain, where I currently live. I felt neither joy nor sadness. My first thoughts, in fact, were of a purely practical nature: What will happen to my passport? Will it be recognized abroad?The cover of my passport still reads Yugoslavia. The country changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro several years ago, but the authorities had no money to change passports.A week ago, a policeman at the Madrid airport asked me: "Where is this passport from?" "It is from Yugoslavia," I said, "but the country changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro. In a few weeks it will have a different name." The policeman smiled. "In a few years Spain will be in the same situation," he said. "I shall be from Andalusia."The disintegration of a country implies many practical problems. The solution to these problems, those that people care about, depends on political negotiations. So far, Balkan politicians have not negotiated in good faith.What will happen to pensions, social security, properties and divided families? In my case, I do not even know who will inherit my country's (sorry, my former, former country's) embassy in Spain. Will I have to go to France or elsewhere to solve a simple issue or get a paper? Who knows if any of my Yugoslav/Serbian documents will be recognized abroad, anyway.Even the answers to some simple questions become complicated. When asked "Where are you from?" I have several answers. When speaking to Europeans, I usually say that I am from Belgrade, the city where I was born and got my education. When speaking to other people, I say that I come from the former Yugoslavia. It is too complicated to explain that the country no longer exists.In my country of birth, there were three official languages: Serbo-Croatian, Slovenian and Macedonian. Serbo-Croatian was spoken in four republics, each now an independent state (or about to be one): Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro. Now, each independent state has its own language, that is, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin.Slovenian and Macedonian are, in fact, different languages, but most people in all the republics spoke or understood the language previously called Serbo- Croatian. Now, when I speak with my friends from different parts of former Yugoslavia, we still communicate in the same tongue, but we each call it, "our language." That way, all misunderstanding is avoided.Professional and business people from the former Yugoslavia still meet and keep in contact. Now, however, their meetings have an international character. The favorite meeting place is Vienna. The reason is pragmatic: The Austrian capital has direct flights to all the regional capitals. There are no plane connections between Zagreb and Belgrade, for example. In addition, one can buy newspapers and magazines from the entire region at Viennese newsstands. Not so in Skopje or Sarajevo.The organizers of international conferences, as well as the various multilateral and nongovernmental organizations active in the region, usually deal with all the countries in the area. But it is no longer acceptable to say the former Yugoslavia, so a new concept has been forged: Southeastern Europe.When organizing international forums, institutions play to local sensitivities (nobody wants to be associated with the extinct country) and usually include participants from neighboring countries: Romania, Bulgaria, Albania and even Greece. Thus a new problem emerges: language barriers. People from the former Yugoslavia do not understand Romanian, Bulgarian or Albanian. So, international dialogue is held in English.In early May, I participated in an international conference of media professionals from Southeastern Europe held in Vienna. The presence of Austrian, Italian, Greek, Bulgarian, Albanian and Moldovan journalists obliged everyone to speak English during the official sessions.During coffee breaks and official dinners, however, all the journalists from former Yugoslavia stuck together, speaking Serbo-Croatian, or, rather, "our language." Even the Albanians from Kosovo preferred the former Yugoslav crowd.Journalists talked about their respective countries, asked about mutual friends and compared whose economic situation was more favorable and which country was closer to joining the European Union. Nonetheless, the aspiration to join the EU did not translate into any interest in Europe. I tried, without success, to comment on the media situation in Spain. Nobody was interested. "I live in the Balkans, not in Europe," commented a colleague from Macedonia. Mirjana Tomic, a freelance media consultant, lives in Madrid.
Copyright � 2006 The International Herald Tribune www.iht.com
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/05/23/opinion/edtomic.phpThe independence of Montenegro- the further disintegration of a country- implies many practical problems.
Claiming the Black Mountain
http://www.antiwar.com/malic/?articleid=9026
May 24, 2006
Claiming the Black Mountain
by Nebojsa Malic
Montenegro's Separatists WinAfter seven years of frustrated attempts, the separatist regime inMontenegro celebrated victory Sunday night, as it managed to drum up 55.5percent of the votes necessary to win the independence referendum. Whatwould be a landslide in any Western election was actually the narrowest ofmargins in Montenegro, as the acceptable threshold set by the Brusselsbureaucrats was 55 percent. It took weeks of pro-independence propaganda in government-monopolized media, multi-million-euro public works timed for thereferendum, shady political deals with ethnic minorities, and votershenanigans to secure that .5 percent margin between victory and defeat. And though the unionist parties are demanding a recount and complaining aboutirregularities, Milo Djukanovic and his separatists have already declaredvictory ? and more importantly, just about everyone, including Belgrade, has accepted it as fact.The outcome caused outpourings of joy at the International Crisis Group,among the Kosovo Albanians, and in the ranks of Serbophobic media. Theireagerness to celebrate the "demise of Greater Serbia" suggests that external support for Montenegrin separatism was never about Montenegro at all. Whathappens to the rocky republic next will be of little interest to itserstwhile partisans, as they continue to redraw Balkans maps to match those of 1941.Democracy in ActionIt has been said that it doesn't matter who votes as much as who counts thevotes. In Montenegro this weekend, what mattered was who counted the voters.In the run-up to the referendum, tens of thousands of "Montenegrins" living abroad were registered to vote, while hundreds of thousands who lived inSerbia were denied that right. While separatists complained that because ofthe 55 percent rule, their vote was worth only 0.82 percent of "a Serb's" (meaning a unionist's), it was people like Began Cekic, "a demolition expertfrom Brooklyn," who decided the outcome of the plebiscite.Writes Nicholas Wood of the New York Times:"Figures from the border police suggest that Montenegro's diaspora had a decisive role in passing the referendum. Some 16,000 Montenegrins fromabroad returned in the three days before the election, a number equal to 3percent of the total voter turnout."While people like Cekic, "an ethnic Albanian," flew in to support the separatists, none of the 350,000-plus Montenegrins living in Serbia wereallowed to vote. Most of them consider themselves ethnic Serbs, much asthose in Montenegro who voted against secession. But the Djukanovic regime has systematically denied Montenegro's Serb identity, establishing aseparate "Academy of sciences," a separate church, a separate language, eveninventing a separate history.Alexis de Tocqueville once warned that a democracy can easily become a mere "tyranny of the majority." The great irony of Montenegro's May 21 plebisciteis that the "majority" that won was actually an alliance of minorities ? theideological and pragmatic separatists among the Montenegrin Serbs, ethnic Albanians, Croats, and Muslims, who together outnumbered the plurality ofSerb unionists.The Gloating BeginsWhile news of Montenegro's secession generally merited a short wire reportin most American papers, the media establishment with vested interests in the "Bank of Collective Serbian Guilt" (Deliso) reacted to the outcome withebullience and gloating.The staff correspondent of New York's Newsday told his readers how Sundaynight's referendum was a defeat for "every Serb who ever yearned to expand Serbia's territory" and "a dream of a land called Greater Serbia." Insistingthat the 1990s wars were motivated by this mythical conspiracy ? somethingeven the Hague Inquisition has abandoned, due to complete inability to fabricate even halfway credible evidence ? the Newsday correspondentexplains that:"The hope of the United States, the European Union, and the internationalcommunity at large is that Serbia will accept its modest new status as a landlocked country of under 10 million people, give up its expansionist,nationalist impulses, and embrace the West."This sort of rhetoric is parroted by The Guardian's Ian Traynor, who opinedthat the loss of Montenegro, and the likely loss of Kosovo to follow, "may be just the tonic Serbia needs to divest itself of a disastrous 15 years anda nationalism that has brought nothing but grief." Continues Traynor,"[C]ertainly, the cream of Belgrade's liberal and democratic class is happy that an independent Montenegro also means, finally, an independent Serbiathat can get on with rebuilding itself."The "cream" he is referring to are people like Sonja Biserko, who told theLA Times that Montenegro's secession "marked the end of Serbia's 'imperialambitions.'" There's something incongruous about Biserko, the leadingsupporter of the Empire, talking about some supposed Serbian imperialism. In her Serbophobic crusade, she has supported the NATO bombing and advocatedthe occupation and forced "reeducation" of Serbia. That's some "humanrights" record, indeed.One of Biserko's detractors once asked the rhetorical question: How small would Serbia have to be for them to no longer consider it "imperialist" and"aggressive"? The answer he postulated, based on the Jacobin language ofBiserko and the rest of the "liberal and democratic class," was, "Never small enough."Taking a CueAlbanian separatists in the occupied province of Kosovo have cheeredSunday's results the loudest.Alex Anderson of the International Crisis Group, which has championed Montenegrin and Albanian separatism, did not hide his pleasure at theoutcome of Sunday's plebiscite, commenting that "there's an expectation ofdomino-effect" in Kosovo now."Before the end of the year, Kosovo, too, will join Montenegro as a new state, and these new countries will be an important factor for stability ofthe whole region," said the Albanian "prime minister" of Kosovo, Agim Ceku.A commentator named Dukagjin Gorani distilled the Albanian argument thus: if 650,000 residents of Montenegro have the right to independence, why wouldn'tthe 2 million Albanians in Kosovo? One could respond that Montenegro was a"republic" in the old Yugoslavia, and that according to the EU's own ruling from 1991 only "republics" had the right to self-determination andsecession, not provinces or peoples. That was certainly the argument usedagainst the separatist movements of Serbs in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. But the Abramowitz Doctrine clearly rejects the application of principles tothe Balkans. Arguments rejected out of hand when they came from 2 millionSerbs are now widely recognized as valid when coming from 2 million Albanians. It's all in who does the rejecting and the recognizing, you see.AcceptanceReactions in Belgrade have been a mixture of shock, disbelief, sorrow, andsatisfaction. The expression most wire services used was "grudging acceptance." By Tuesday afternoon, Serbian President Boris Tadic ? now defacto a full head of state ? publicly announced Serbia's acceptance of theplebiscite results. It isn't quite clear whether he had the authority to do so, but the notoriously blurry lines of authority in Serbia have just becomeeven more fluid.To many in Serbia, Montenegro's separation comes as a relief, after almostnine years of incessant provocations and tension-building by the separatists. Admittedly, the sundering will abolish the costly and uselessunion government, for years almost entirely funded by Serbian taxpayers.According to the charter negotiated in 2002, Serbia will automatically succeed to all international memberships, treaties, and charters, whileMontenegro will have to start from scratch. Abolition of the Union will haveanother consequence ? the independence of Serbia from Javier Solana, the man who presided over Serbia's 1999 bombing, and who was instrumental increating the Union charter.And yet, Montenegro's departure comes as a body blow to the Serb nationalconscience. Quite the contrary from Imperial claims of "Greater Serbia," the prevailing view in Serbia itself has for decades been the Communist-inducedprovincialism, which regarded their close relatives in Croatia, Bosnia, andMacedonia as somehow different and alien. Montenegro, however, had always been regarded as more quintessentially Serb than Serbia itself. Throughoutthe 19th century, Austria-Hungary did its best to keep Serbia and Montenegroapart, finally failing in 1913. After the Great War, Montenegro was annexed by the Kingdom of Serbia, something the tactless Serbian monarch handledabout as gracefully as the creation of Yugoslavia.Even so, it was not until the Italian occupation of 1941-45 and thesubsequent Communist creation of the "People's Republic of Montenegro" that the idea emerged of a "Montenegrin" ethnic identity as distinctly separatefrom Serb. Djukanovic's brand of separatism did not appeal to freedom from"Milosevic's tyranny" or notions of regional autonomy ? it rooted itself firmly in this anti-Serb concept of Montenegrin nationality. When even theproudest Serbs go as far to deny their Serb heritage? what does it meananymore? This is the sort of question the foreign backers of Montenegrin independence wanted asked, for the explicit purpose of forcing Serbia to"accept its modest new status" and "embrace the West." (Newsday)The loss of compass in Belgrade is perhaps best described by Monday's call from Vuk Draskovic, soon-to-be-former foreign minister of the now defunctUnion, to reestablish monarchy in Serbia. While a great idea in principle,Draskovic chose to justify it as "a shortcut to full membership in EU and NATO." What's Next?The true consequences of Montenegro's separation remain to be seen. Serbiaobviously has a lot of soul-searching to do, even as it is facing enormouspressure to surrender Kosovo. In the rocky republic itself, life after secession does not look to be all milk and honey, as the separatistspromised their electorate. For years, Montenegro has lived on U.S. foreignaid, while Serbia subsidized its share of government expenses and foreign debt. Now that it can no longer be used as a leverage against Belgrade,Podgorica may find its American sugar daddy inexplicably AWOL. Moreover, itsrulers now owe favors to Croats, Albanians, and Muslims from the north ? favors they may have to repay with special privileges, maybe even territory.For years, Milo Djukanovic wanted to be president of an independent state.Now he has his wish, and may well live to regret it, as flags, marches, and hymns give way to grim realities he can no longer blame on Belgrade.
May 24, 2006
Claiming the Black Mountain
by Nebojsa Malic
Montenegro's Separatists WinAfter seven years of frustrated attempts, the separatist regime inMontenegro celebrated victory Sunday night, as it managed to drum up 55.5percent of the votes necessary to win the independence referendum. Whatwould be a landslide in any Western election was actually the narrowest ofmargins in Montenegro, as the acceptable threshold set by the Brusselsbureaucrats was 55 percent. It took weeks of pro-independence propaganda in government-monopolized media, multi-million-euro public works timed for thereferendum, shady political deals with ethnic minorities, and votershenanigans to secure that .5 percent margin between victory and defeat. And though the unionist parties are demanding a recount and complaining aboutirregularities, Milo Djukanovic and his separatists have already declaredvictory ? and more importantly, just about everyone, including Belgrade, has accepted it as fact.The outcome caused outpourings of joy at the International Crisis Group,among the Kosovo Albanians, and in the ranks of Serbophobic media. Theireagerness to celebrate the "demise of Greater Serbia" suggests that external support for Montenegrin separatism was never about Montenegro at all. Whathappens to the rocky republic next will be of little interest to itserstwhile partisans, as they continue to redraw Balkans maps to match those of 1941.Democracy in ActionIt has been said that it doesn't matter who votes as much as who counts thevotes. In Montenegro this weekend, what mattered was who counted the voters.In the run-up to the referendum, tens of thousands of "Montenegrins" living abroad were registered to vote, while hundreds of thousands who lived inSerbia were denied that right. While separatists complained that because ofthe 55 percent rule, their vote was worth only 0.82 percent of "a Serb's" (meaning a unionist's), it was people like Began Cekic, "a demolition expertfrom Brooklyn," who decided the outcome of the plebiscite.Writes Nicholas Wood of the New York Times:"Figures from the border police suggest that Montenegro's diaspora had a decisive role in passing the referendum. Some 16,000 Montenegrins fromabroad returned in the three days before the election, a number equal to 3percent of the total voter turnout."While people like Cekic, "an ethnic Albanian," flew in to support the separatists, none of the 350,000-plus Montenegrins living in Serbia wereallowed to vote. Most of them consider themselves ethnic Serbs, much asthose in Montenegro who voted against secession. But the Djukanovic regime has systematically denied Montenegro's Serb identity, establishing aseparate "Academy of sciences," a separate church, a separate language, eveninventing a separate history.Alexis de Tocqueville once warned that a democracy can easily become a mere "tyranny of the majority." The great irony of Montenegro's May 21 plebisciteis that the "majority" that won was actually an alliance of minorities ? theideological and pragmatic separatists among the Montenegrin Serbs, ethnic Albanians, Croats, and Muslims, who together outnumbered the plurality ofSerb unionists.The Gloating BeginsWhile news of Montenegro's secession generally merited a short wire reportin most American papers, the media establishment with vested interests in the "Bank of Collective Serbian Guilt" (Deliso) reacted to the outcome withebullience and gloating.The staff correspondent of New York's Newsday told his readers how Sundaynight's referendum was a defeat for "every Serb who ever yearned to expand Serbia's territory" and "a dream of a land called Greater Serbia." Insistingthat the 1990s wars were motivated by this mythical conspiracy ? somethingeven the Hague Inquisition has abandoned, due to complete inability to fabricate even halfway credible evidence ? the Newsday correspondentexplains that:"The hope of the United States, the European Union, and the internationalcommunity at large is that Serbia will accept its modest new status as a landlocked country of under 10 million people, give up its expansionist,nationalist impulses, and embrace the West."This sort of rhetoric is parroted by The Guardian's Ian Traynor, who opinedthat the loss of Montenegro, and the likely loss of Kosovo to follow, "may be just the tonic Serbia needs to divest itself of a disastrous 15 years anda nationalism that has brought nothing but grief." Continues Traynor,"[C]ertainly, the cream of Belgrade's liberal and democratic class is happy that an independent Montenegro also means, finally, an independent Serbiathat can get on with rebuilding itself."The "cream" he is referring to are people like Sonja Biserko, who told theLA Times that Montenegro's secession "marked the end of Serbia's 'imperialambitions.'" There's something incongruous about Biserko, the leadingsupporter of the Empire, talking about some supposed Serbian imperialism. In her Serbophobic crusade, she has supported the NATO bombing and advocatedthe occupation and forced "reeducation" of Serbia. That's some "humanrights" record, indeed.One of Biserko's detractors once asked the rhetorical question: How small would Serbia have to be for them to no longer consider it "imperialist" and"aggressive"? The answer he postulated, based on the Jacobin language ofBiserko and the rest of the "liberal and democratic class," was, "Never small enough."Taking a CueAlbanian separatists in the occupied province of Kosovo have cheeredSunday's results the loudest.Alex Anderson of the International Crisis Group, which has championed Montenegrin and Albanian separatism, did not hide his pleasure at theoutcome of Sunday's plebiscite, commenting that "there's an expectation ofdomino-effect" in Kosovo now."Before the end of the year, Kosovo, too, will join Montenegro as a new state, and these new countries will be an important factor for stability ofthe whole region," said the Albanian "prime minister" of Kosovo, Agim Ceku.A commentator named Dukagjin Gorani distilled the Albanian argument thus: if 650,000 residents of Montenegro have the right to independence, why wouldn'tthe 2 million Albanians in Kosovo? One could respond that Montenegro was a"republic" in the old Yugoslavia, and that according to the EU's own ruling from 1991 only "republics" had the right to self-determination andsecession, not provinces or peoples. That was certainly the argument usedagainst the separatist movements of Serbs in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. But the Abramowitz Doctrine clearly rejects the application of principles tothe Balkans. Arguments rejected out of hand when they came from 2 millionSerbs are now widely recognized as valid when coming from 2 million Albanians. It's all in who does the rejecting and the recognizing, you see.AcceptanceReactions in Belgrade have been a mixture of shock, disbelief, sorrow, andsatisfaction. The expression most wire services used was "grudging acceptance." By Tuesday afternoon, Serbian President Boris Tadic ? now defacto a full head of state ? publicly announced Serbia's acceptance of theplebiscite results. It isn't quite clear whether he had the authority to do so, but the notoriously blurry lines of authority in Serbia have just becomeeven more fluid.To many in Serbia, Montenegro's separation comes as a relief, after almostnine years of incessant provocations and tension-building by the separatists. Admittedly, the sundering will abolish the costly and uselessunion government, for years almost entirely funded by Serbian taxpayers.According to the charter negotiated in 2002, Serbia will automatically succeed to all international memberships, treaties, and charters, whileMontenegro will have to start from scratch. Abolition of the Union will haveanother consequence ? the independence of Serbia from Javier Solana, the man who presided over Serbia's 1999 bombing, and who was instrumental increating the Union charter.And yet, Montenegro's departure comes as a body blow to the Serb nationalconscience. Quite the contrary from Imperial claims of "Greater Serbia," the prevailing view in Serbia itself has for decades been the Communist-inducedprovincialism, which regarded their close relatives in Croatia, Bosnia, andMacedonia as somehow different and alien. Montenegro, however, had always been regarded as more quintessentially Serb than Serbia itself. Throughoutthe 19th century, Austria-Hungary did its best to keep Serbia and Montenegroapart, finally failing in 1913. After the Great War, Montenegro was annexed by the Kingdom of Serbia, something the tactless Serbian monarch handledabout as gracefully as the creation of Yugoslavia.Even so, it was not until the Italian occupation of 1941-45 and thesubsequent Communist creation of the "People's Republic of Montenegro" that the idea emerged of a "Montenegrin" ethnic identity as distinctly separatefrom Serb. Djukanovic's brand of separatism did not appeal to freedom from"Milosevic's tyranny" or notions of regional autonomy ? it rooted itself firmly in this anti-Serb concept of Montenegrin nationality. When even theproudest Serbs go as far to deny their Serb heritage? what does it meananymore? This is the sort of question the foreign backers of Montenegrin independence wanted asked, for the explicit purpose of forcing Serbia to"accept its modest new status" and "embrace the West." (Newsday)The loss of compass in Belgrade is perhaps best described by Monday's call from Vuk Draskovic, soon-to-be-former foreign minister of the now defunctUnion, to reestablish monarchy in Serbia. While a great idea in principle,Draskovic chose to justify it as "a shortcut to full membership in EU and NATO." What's Next?The true consequences of Montenegro's separation remain to be seen. Serbiaobviously has a lot of soul-searching to do, even as it is facing enormouspressure to surrender Kosovo. In the rocky republic itself, life after secession does not look to be all milk and honey, as the separatistspromised their electorate. For years, Montenegro has lived on U.S. foreignaid, while Serbia subsidized its share of government expenses and foreign debt. Now that it can no longer be used as a leverage against Belgrade,Podgorica may find its American sugar daddy inexplicably AWOL. Moreover, itsrulers now owe favors to Croats, Albanians, and Muslims from the north ? favors they may have to repay with special privileges, maybe even territory.For years, Milo Djukanovic wanted to be president of an independent state.Now he has his wish, and may well live to regret it, as flags, marches, and hymns give way to grim realities he can no longer blame on Belgrade.
Montenegrin Independence
From: Dragan Rakic
Subject: RE: Montenegrin Independence
The, now, former member of the Serbian and Montenegrin Union, Montenegro became the newest European state two days ago, by expressing its will on the referendum for independence.
The international observers stated that the vote was regular and that some 83% of voters were present at the poles. But there is something that disturbs that "regularity", which seemed to be perfect. The Montenegrin Prime minister Mr. Milo Djukanovic who organized the vote, invited "all the Montenegrins
from all around the World to come to vote". That is what happened. People from USA, UK, Germany and other continents were interviewed at some European TV channels, and to those who understand the language it was quite strange to hear instead of Serbian, the Albanian language. One might come to conclusion that Albanians came to vote for the independence. It would not be that important if one knows that the Montenegrins living in Serbia were not allowed to vote at this referendum. Knowing that Montenegrins make some 30% of the Serbian population, one could ask what could have happened if they voted. In the other hand, Mr. Djukanovic, the Montenegrin Prime minister, expressed his worries about what would become 30 % of them after the independence is declared. With a little tour of " humanitarian problem", " The non respect of minorities" etc, he may easily create the situation we knew in Bosnia or in Kosovo. Nevertheless it should be noted that he did not allow the Montenegrins from Serbia to vote.
Is it regular or not � ?
Dragan RAKIC
Strasbourg
France
Question: After all, the Albanians outnumber Serbs in Kosovo (largely through illegal crossing of Albanians into Kosovo from Albania but only make up 19% of Serbia as a whole. When legal and illegal Mexicans -- while still a minority in the United states as a whole -- become the "majority in California, Arizona or Texas, which is fast approach if the President's non-admitted amnesty bill goes through, will their "majority" be able to vote for separation from the United States without the vote opened to all America?" This is what the Serbs are facing.
Stella
MONTENEGRO - ANOTHER GERMAN PUPPET STATE? Report by the German Journalists of www.german-foreign-policy.com 19/5/06Translated by Edward Spalton 20/5/06 forhttp://www.freenations.freeuk.com/gc-61.html
Germany calling
http://www.balkanpeace.org/rs/archive/july00/rs57.shtml
Decline of The West, Playing the Montenegro Card by George Szamuely Playing the Montenegro Card
"It looks like NATO will soon be renewing its war against Serbia. Montenegro will provide the justification. NATO is playing the same game in Montenegro that it played in Kosovo."
http://www.balkanpeace.org/rs/archive/apr01/rs141.shtml
Chronicles Online, April 25, 2001Montenegro Elections: Djukanovic�s crushing defeat Srdja Trifkovic
He [Milo Djukanovic] is Milosevic�s disciple, his creation. He may parade as a democrat now, but his instincts have always been authoritarian and remain so today." The leading daily newspaper, Pobjeda, is controlled by the government and accordingly looks and reads like a party organ from the pre-1989 Eastern Europe. The second-largest circulation daily, Vijesti, and the leading weekly, Monitor, while theoretically "independent," are both outspoken in their support of separatism and effectively pro-government. They enjoy lavish financial support from the National Endowment for Democracy and from George Soros , among others.
Subject: RE: Montenegrin Independence
The, now, former member of the Serbian and Montenegrin Union, Montenegro became the newest European state two days ago, by expressing its will on the referendum for independence.
The international observers stated that the vote was regular and that some 83% of voters were present at the poles. But there is something that disturbs that "regularity", which seemed to be perfect. The Montenegrin Prime minister Mr. Milo Djukanovic who organized the vote, invited "all the Montenegrins
from all around the World to come to vote". That is what happened. People from USA, UK, Germany and other continents were interviewed at some European TV channels, and to those who understand the language it was quite strange to hear instead of Serbian, the Albanian language. One might come to conclusion that Albanians came to vote for the independence. It would not be that important if one knows that the Montenegrins living in Serbia were not allowed to vote at this referendum. Knowing that Montenegrins make some 30% of the Serbian population, one could ask what could have happened if they voted. In the other hand, Mr. Djukanovic, the Montenegrin Prime minister, expressed his worries about what would become 30 % of them after the independence is declared. With a little tour of " humanitarian problem", " The non respect of minorities" etc, he may easily create the situation we knew in Bosnia or in Kosovo. Nevertheless it should be noted that he did not allow the Montenegrins from Serbia to vote.
Is it regular or not � ?
Dragan RAKIC
Strasbourg
France
Question: After all, the Albanians outnumber Serbs in Kosovo (largely through illegal crossing of Albanians into Kosovo from Albania but only make up 19% of Serbia as a whole. When legal and illegal Mexicans -- while still a minority in the United states as a whole -- become the "majority in California, Arizona or Texas, which is fast approach if the President's non-admitted amnesty bill goes through, will their "majority" be able to vote for separation from the United States without the vote opened to all America?" This is what the Serbs are facing.
Stella
MONTENEGRO - ANOTHER GERMAN PUPPET STATE? Report by the German Journalists of www.german-foreign-policy.com 19/5/06Translated by Edward Spalton 20/5/06 forhttp://www.freenations.freeuk.com/gc-61.html
Germany calling
http://www.balkanpeace.org/rs/archive/july00/rs57.shtml
Decline of The West, Playing the Montenegro Card by George Szamuely Playing the Montenegro Card
"It looks like NATO will soon be renewing its war against Serbia. Montenegro will provide the justification. NATO is playing the same game in Montenegro that it played in Kosovo."
http://www.balkanpeace.org/rs/archive/apr01/rs141.shtml
Chronicles Online, April 25, 2001Montenegro Elections: Djukanovic�s crushing defeat Srdja Trifkovic
He [Milo Djukanovic] is Milosevic�s disciple, his creation. He may parade as a democrat now, but his instincts have always been authoritarian and remain so today." The leading daily newspaper, Pobjeda, is controlled by the government and accordingly looks and reads like a party organ from the pre-1989 Eastern Europe. The second-largest circulation daily, Vijesti, and the leading weekly, Monitor, while theoretically "independent," are both outspoken in their support of separatism and effectively pro-government. They enjoy lavish financial support from the National Endowment for Democracy and from George Soros , among others.
Jared Israel's Response to Shlomo Avineri's "Next - independence for Kosovo"
Jared Israel's (www.tenc.net) Letter to the Jerusalem Post Respondingto Shlomo Avineri's "Next - independence for Kosovo"Avineri Embraces Germany's Dream: A Splintered Balkans It is remarkable to see Prof. Avineri call for empathy for the Serbseven as he repeats every anti-Serb falsehood. Is this black humor?Examples:First, there is no "Bosnian" ethnic group. Bosnia includes: descendents of Serbs who survived Jasenovac, Croatia's Nazi deathcamp; Slavic Muslims; and Croats. The Slavic Muslims are mainly Serbswho converted to Islam under Ottoman rule/coercion. They areindistinguishable from Orthodox Slavs ('Bosnian Serbs') except by religion. The 'Bosnian ethnic group' is a propaganda creation, tohide reality: Alija Izetbegovic's drive for "Bosnian nationhood" wasreally a drive to create an Islamist-dominated outpost in thatterritory, which required defeating Serbian and pro-Yugoslav Muslimresistance.Second, Yugoslavia did not break up during World War II due to Serbianhegemony. That was the line of Hitler's favorites, the Croatian Ustashi, who created the Nazi-propped 'Independent State of Croatia.'Yugoslavia broke up due to a massive Nazi invasion after Serbianofficers overthrew the government, which had made a deal with Hitler.The subsequent resistance - overwhelmingly Serbs - fought the armies of Nazi Germany and its ally, the Ustashi-run Independent State ofCroatia. The Ustashi were motivated by fanatical Catholicism,antisemitism, and Serbophobia, and they mobilized Muslim fanatics, whosigned up for the Waffen SS organized by the Mufti of Jerusalem. In Kosovo, the predecessors of today's Kosovo Liberation Army warmlywelcomed the Italian Fascists, and helped deport almost all Kosovo'sJews to Nazi death camps.The Comintern's 'Serbian-nationalism-is-the-great-problem' line, embraced by Tito in part because it was a politically correct way ofappealing to Croatian anti-Serb racism, helped make possibleYugoslavia's post-war failure to campaign seriously against theanti-Serb racism that underlay Ustashi Croatia's mass slaughter of Serbs � they butchered about 750,000 Serbs alongside most Jews.Prior to the late-1980s launch of the US-German campaign to, onceagain, destroy Yugoslavia, the media widely reported that in Kosovo amass-based Albanian racist movement was conducting a war of terror against Serbs. Those racists, heir to the WWII Kosovo AlbanianFascists, wanted to resurrect the Fascists' Greater Albania. In 1999NATO went to war for these born-again Nazis, who would dominate any'independent' Kosovo. Such a statelet would be a springboard for attacks on Macedonia and Greece, aiming to annex parts of thosecountries to Kosovo and Albania, thus resurrecting Greater Albania.This violent splintering of the Balkans is the dream of German foreignpolicy which, for a hundred years, has advocated "Serbia must die," because Serbia, with its passionate opposition to foreign domination,has always been the driving force uniting Balkan peoples into a statecapable of resisting Germany. Thus "Serbia must die" has been the racist battle-cry of the German drive of preventing the creation ofand then destroying Yugoslavia. (The Comintern's old line that"Serbian hegemony is the problem" is in essence a polite rephrasing of the German slogan.) An independent Kosovo, acting as a base for anation-destroying campaign to create a Greater Albania, would be agiant step closer to realizing this German dream, grotesquely embracedby Mr. Avineri, of a Yugoslavia broken into increasingly tiny parts, helpless to resist German hegemony.
Jared Israel
Newton Mass
www.tenc.net
Jared Israel
Newton Mass
www.tenc.net
Never mind the Balkans
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1781039,00.html
The Guardian Tuesday May 23, 2006
Comment is free
Never mind the Balkans
Montenegro had more independence as part of Yugoslavia than it will as an
EU-Nato protectorate
Neil Clark
'Montenegro votes for independence", the headlines declared at the result of the
referendum in the Balkan republic. But is independence really what lies in
store? My dictionary has independence as: "completely self-governing; not
subject to or showing the influence of others". By this definition, independence
is not what they will be getting.
The most important political and economic decisions, which will affect the
everyday lives of citizens in the republic, will not be made in its capital,
Podgorica, but in Brussels, Geneva and Washington and the boardrooms of the
multinational companies which now dominate the country's economy.
It is ironic that EU and WTO membership has been most enthusiastically supported
by the prime minister, Milo Djukanovic, and the pro-independence faction - for
it's hard to think of an easier way for a small country to lose national
independence than by surrendering control of trade and economic policy to
unelected bureaucrats miles away.
Nato membership, which Montenegro is also expected to pursue enthusiastically,
has similar consequences: the commanders of Montenegro's new army and navy will
have to get used to taking orders from those who planned the 78-day bombing of
Yugoslavia in 1999.
Then there is the role of the IMF and the World Bank. These two unelected bodies
have, with the EU, sought to impose Thatcherite neo-liberal solutions on
Serbia-Montenegro, ever since the fall of Yugoslavia's Socialist-led government
in 2000. Thousands of socially owned enterprises have already been privatised,
but the west is still not satisfied - the IMF has made further economic help
dependent on Belgrade selling off the valuable NIS oil company.
Montenegro's tiny economy is even more dominated by foreign capital than
Serbia's, with the privatisation process having started much earlier. The
selling off of nationally owned assets will have serious implications for the
country's future economic viability and even with the tourist potential of its
attractive coastline, it is difficult to see how Montenegro can afford to pay
its way, without further surrender to western financial institutions. In doing
so, it will be following the path of its neighbours.
For all the novelties of statehood, the brutal truth is that today's
"independent" Balkan republics had, if anything, more independence when they
were autonomous republics inside the Yugoslav Federation. In place of one
militarily strong, internationally respected, non-aligned nation, there now
exists a number of weak, economically unviable EU/IMF/Nato protectorates.
The dismantling of Yugoslavia, with its alternative economic and social model,
has suited western capitalism fine. But for the people of the region, the
benefits have been harder to discern. Little wonder then that nostalgia for
Tito's Yugoslavia is on the rise. The website "Titoville" has received over 1m
visitors and in Rakovice, a suburb of Sarajevo, an anti-nationalist Serb named
Jezdimir Milosevic (no relation) has proclaimed "The Republic of Titoslavia", a
state "without territory, without international recognition, destined to live in
the hearts of its citizens". Passports are available for EUR10.
Over 65 years ago, on the eve of the attack on Yugoslavia by the Axis powers,
the Serbian jurist Slobodan Jovanovic argued that a single, south Slav state was
the best way the people of the Balkans could guarantee their independence and
protection. It still is - and that logic seems likely to make itself felt in the
years to come. When the victory parades are over, the only real difference
Sunday's narrow vote will make is that Montenegro will be able enter Eurovision.
www.neilclark66.blogspot.com
neilclark6@hotmail.com
Guardian Unlimited � Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006.
The Guardian Tuesday May 23, 2006
Comment is free
Never mind the Balkans
Montenegro had more independence as part of Yugoslavia than it will as an
EU-Nato protectorate
Neil Clark
'Montenegro votes for independence", the headlines declared at the result of the
referendum in the Balkan republic. But is independence really what lies in
store? My dictionary has independence as: "completely self-governing; not
subject to or showing the influence of others". By this definition, independence
is not what they will be getting.
The most important political and economic decisions, which will affect the
everyday lives of citizens in the republic, will not be made in its capital,
Podgorica, but in Brussels, Geneva and Washington and the boardrooms of the
multinational companies which now dominate the country's economy.
It is ironic that EU and WTO membership has been most enthusiastically supported
by the prime minister, Milo Djukanovic, and the pro-independence faction - for
it's hard to think of an easier way for a small country to lose national
independence than by surrendering control of trade and economic policy to
unelected bureaucrats miles away.
Nato membership, which Montenegro is also expected to pursue enthusiastically,
has similar consequences: the commanders of Montenegro's new army and navy will
have to get used to taking orders from those who planned the 78-day bombing of
Yugoslavia in 1999.
Then there is the role of the IMF and the World Bank. These two unelected bodies
have, with the EU, sought to impose Thatcherite neo-liberal solutions on
Serbia-Montenegro, ever since the fall of Yugoslavia's Socialist-led government
in 2000. Thousands of socially owned enterprises have already been privatised,
but the west is still not satisfied - the IMF has made further economic help
dependent on Belgrade selling off the valuable NIS oil company.
Montenegro's tiny economy is even more dominated by foreign capital than
Serbia's, with the privatisation process having started much earlier. The
selling off of nationally owned assets will have serious implications for the
country's future economic viability and even with the tourist potential of its
attractive coastline, it is difficult to see how Montenegro can afford to pay
its way, without further surrender to western financial institutions. In doing
so, it will be following the path of its neighbours.
For all the novelties of statehood, the brutal truth is that today's
"independent" Balkan republics had, if anything, more independence when they
were autonomous republics inside the Yugoslav Federation. In place of one
militarily strong, internationally respected, non-aligned nation, there now
exists a number of weak, economically unviable EU/IMF/Nato protectorates.
The dismantling of Yugoslavia, with its alternative economic and social model,
has suited western capitalism fine. But for the people of the region, the
benefits have been harder to discern. Little wonder then that nostalgia for
Tito's Yugoslavia is on the rise. The website "Titoville" has received over 1m
visitors and in Rakovice, a suburb of Sarajevo, an anti-nationalist Serb named
Jezdimir Milosevic (no relation) has proclaimed "The Republic of Titoslavia", a
state "without territory, without international recognition, destined to live in
the hearts of its citizens". Passports are available for EUR10.
Over 65 years ago, on the eve of the attack on Yugoslavia by the Axis powers,
the Serbian jurist Slobodan Jovanovic argued that a single, south Slav state was
the best way the people of the Balkans could guarantee their independence and
protection. It still is - and that logic seems likely to make itself felt in the
years to come. When the victory parades are over, the only real difference
Sunday's narrow vote will make is that Montenegro will be able enter Eurovision.
www.neilclark66.blogspot.com
neilclark6@hotmail.com
Guardian Unlimited � Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006.
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