Post by ccccnjegoscccc on Sept 16, 2008 9:49:36 GMT -5
Good article from Time Magazine in 98....before the great Schism of Montenegrin history by Don Milo and his Muslim/Albanian slaves.
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It's Serb vs. Serb in Montenegro Vote
As the presidential motorcade crawled up a narrow road toward barren hilltops of rock and scrub, clusters of peasant farmers ambled out of stone hovels to taunt the passing cars.
''Milo the Turk!'' they shouted. ''Milo the Turk!''
Milo Djukanovic, 36, who narrowly won election as head of the republic of Montenegro in October, sat impassively inside his black Audi limousine. His large security detail, made up of burly men in black suits and closely cropped hair, shifted uneasily, their hands near the butts of their weapons.
And the President's supporters, waving party flags from windows, honked horns and noisily answered back with the refrain, ''We are not Serbia!''
After the nationalist wars that saw four republics secede from Yugoslavia, the Serbs in the two remaining republics, Serbia and Montenegro, have begun battling one another as contentious parliamentary elections approach in Montenegro.
They use the same arguments based on historical myth, racism and nationalist pride that fueled the war in Croatia and Bosnia.
The supporters of the President of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic, charge that Mr. Djukanovic, a Montenegrin Serb who is supported by the ethnic Albanian and Muslim minority, is a tool of Islamic forces out to destroy the Serbs and break up Yugoslavia. The Milosevic backers often refer to the Albanians and other Muslims as ''Turks.''
Mr. Djukanovic, in oratorical flourishes that delight his audiences, promises that once Montenegro is freed from Belgrade's grip, it will achieve economic prosperity and be integrated into the community of European nations.
Both arguments are open to question, given the country's parochialism, miserable infrastructure, isolation and crushing poverty.
''This is the most serious crisis to face the country since the formation of the third Yugoslav state this century,'' Mr. Djukanovic said, seated in his office in downtown Podgorica. ''The tactics used against us are aimed at pushing us out of the union. Milosevic is preparing the ground to declare a state of emergency, but he will fail. Montenegro will never tolerate the use of violence to subjugate it to Belgrade.''
The conflict, which Western diplomats fear could lead to internecine violence, has pitted the wily Mr. Milosevic against Mr. Djukanovic, his only real political rival in Yugoslavia. Theirs is a deeply bitter and personal feud.
The two men, once allies, could not be more different. Where Mr. Milosevic is secretive, rarely given to public appearances and wooden, his rival is telegenic, loquacious and charismatic. But they are linked by their autocratic style and the fortunes they made using government structures to get around international sanctions.
As part of the effort to destroy Mr. Djukanovic, the Yugoslav President had the federal Parliament name his protege, Momir Bulatovic, as federal Prime Minister on May 20.
The decision to give the post to Mr. Bulatovic, the former President of Montenegro who lost his office to Mr. Djukanovic in last year's election, is seen by many Western diplomats as laying the groundwork for Mr. Djukaonvic's removal, perhaps by Mr. Milosevic's declaring a state of emergency in Montenegro.
Western diplomats are seething that the moves against Montenegro coincide with the American decision to ease economic pressure against Belgrade.
Sanctions imposed on May 9 were suspended after a last-minute agreement brokered by a United States envoy, Richard C. Holbrooke, that saw Mr. Milosevic and the ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova sit down for the first time for talks to discuss the crisis in the province of Kosovo in southern Serbia.
Montenegro, despite its population of 650,000 against Serbia's 10.5 million, is showing signs that it will go down fighting. The Montenegrin Parliament, controlled by Mr. Djukanovic, has announced that it will no longer respect the laws promulgated by the federal Parliament. It said it would not recognize the new Prime Minister and would ignore the dictates of Mr. Milosevic.
''Montenegro, every day, takes one step further away from Belgrade,'' a European ambassador said, ''and this is one step closer toward intervention from the military to shut down the Djukanovic government. We are nearing a point where this becomes open rebellion.''
Mr. Milosevic has begun to undermine the Montenegrin government, which in theory is an equal partner with Serbia in the Yugoslav federation. He has halted pension payments and federal funds to Montenegro.
He has banned Mr. Djukanovic from assuming his constitutional role in the federal Government and publicly humiliated him, refusing to invite him to the ceremony commemorating the establishment of Yugoslavia or allow him to take his seat in the federal defense council.
The Government-run media in Belgrade are full of reports of plans by Djukanovic supporters for election fraud in parliamentary elections on May 31. Mr. Bulatovic has called on his followers to gather in the streets and ''react'' if the vote is stolen.
When Mr. Djukanovic was inaugurated in January, Mr. Milosovic's supporters staged several days of street protests with the assistance of toughs bused in from Serbia. Montenegrin officials say they are preparing for another round of violence after the parliamentary voting, which Mr. Djukanovic is expected to win.
''Please don't try and tell us that the Albanians and the Muslims are the ones who are now going to help us protect Montenegro from Yugoslavia,'' Mr. Bulatovic said to roars of approval at a recent rally.
Milosevic supporters have marched through the streets of Podgorica, the Montenegrin capital, chanting, ''Who will be the first and who will be the second to drink Turkish blood?''
It is the ethnic chauvinism of Mr. Milosevic and Mr. Bulatovic, directed at the 20 percent of the population who are ethnic Albanians and Muslims, that may prove to be the most combustible element in the schism.
Impoverished rural farmers, after years of state propaganda, have come to believe in conspiracy theories that portray the outside world as bent on the destruction of the Serbs.
''The war in Yugoslavia was directed by the West to weaken and destroy us,'' said a 63-year-old farmer, who spoke on condition of anonymity. ''Now the West is at it again. The Serbs must stay in one state.''
Ubli, 10 miles northwest of Podgorica, is a collection of bleak stone huts, surrounded by rocky walls that pen in sheep and cattle. As in many parts of Montenegro, tribal and clan loyalties outweigh the dictates of the state. It is here that Mr. Bulatovic and Mr. Milosevic find their most zealous support.
Senada Malezic, 25, and Merima Redzic, 30, stood in an afternoon drizzle waiting for Mr. Djukanovic to appear at a small rally. The women are Muslims and said the verbal attacks against minorities were making their lives increasingly difficult.
''We are frightened,'' said Ms. Malezic, who is unemployed. ''We don't want to end up like Bosnia. Suddenly Muslims are again blamed for the mess.''
Many opposition figures view the clash with despair. They argue that there is no substantive difference between the two rival Serbian leaders. Mr. Djukanovic has an iron grip on the media in Montenegro, the police and the other levers of power, just as Mr. Milosevic does in Serbia.
Mr. Djukanovic also amassed a personal fortune by smuggling gasoline and cigarettes into the country in defiance of international sanctions imposed during the war, a fortune that would not have been possible without the help of Mr. Milosevic.
''All Communist regimes preserve power by making war against outer and inner enemies,'' said Slavko Perovic, the head of the Liberal Party. ''Djukanovic and Milosevic are the same. They need each other. This is the Rubik's cube of the Balkans.''
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Interesting
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It's Serb vs. Serb in Montenegro Vote
As the presidential motorcade crawled up a narrow road toward barren hilltops of rock and scrub, clusters of peasant farmers ambled out of stone hovels to taunt the passing cars.
''Milo the Turk!'' they shouted. ''Milo the Turk!''
Milo Djukanovic, 36, who narrowly won election as head of the republic of Montenegro in October, sat impassively inside his black Audi limousine. His large security detail, made up of burly men in black suits and closely cropped hair, shifted uneasily, their hands near the butts of their weapons.
And the President's supporters, waving party flags from windows, honked horns and noisily answered back with the refrain, ''We are not Serbia!''
After the nationalist wars that saw four republics secede from Yugoslavia, the Serbs in the two remaining republics, Serbia and Montenegro, have begun battling one another as contentious parliamentary elections approach in Montenegro.
They use the same arguments based on historical myth, racism and nationalist pride that fueled the war in Croatia and Bosnia.
The supporters of the President of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic, charge that Mr. Djukanovic, a Montenegrin Serb who is supported by the ethnic Albanian and Muslim minority, is a tool of Islamic forces out to destroy the Serbs and break up Yugoslavia. The Milosevic backers often refer to the Albanians and other Muslims as ''Turks.''
Mr. Djukanovic, in oratorical flourishes that delight his audiences, promises that once Montenegro is freed from Belgrade's grip, it will achieve economic prosperity and be integrated into the community of European nations.
Both arguments are open to question, given the country's parochialism, miserable infrastructure, isolation and crushing poverty.
''This is the most serious crisis to face the country since the formation of the third Yugoslav state this century,'' Mr. Djukanovic said, seated in his office in downtown Podgorica. ''The tactics used against us are aimed at pushing us out of the union. Milosevic is preparing the ground to declare a state of emergency, but he will fail. Montenegro will never tolerate the use of violence to subjugate it to Belgrade.''
The conflict, which Western diplomats fear could lead to internecine violence, has pitted the wily Mr. Milosevic against Mr. Djukanovic, his only real political rival in Yugoslavia. Theirs is a deeply bitter and personal feud.
The two men, once allies, could not be more different. Where Mr. Milosevic is secretive, rarely given to public appearances and wooden, his rival is telegenic, loquacious and charismatic. But they are linked by their autocratic style and the fortunes they made using government structures to get around international sanctions.
As part of the effort to destroy Mr. Djukanovic, the Yugoslav President had the federal Parliament name his protege, Momir Bulatovic, as federal Prime Minister on May 20.
The decision to give the post to Mr. Bulatovic, the former President of Montenegro who lost his office to Mr. Djukanovic in last year's election, is seen by many Western diplomats as laying the groundwork for Mr. Djukaonvic's removal, perhaps by Mr. Milosevic's declaring a state of emergency in Montenegro.
Western diplomats are seething that the moves against Montenegro coincide with the American decision to ease economic pressure against Belgrade.
Sanctions imposed on May 9 were suspended after a last-minute agreement brokered by a United States envoy, Richard C. Holbrooke, that saw Mr. Milosevic and the ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova sit down for the first time for talks to discuss the crisis in the province of Kosovo in southern Serbia.
Montenegro, despite its population of 650,000 against Serbia's 10.5 million, is showing signs that it will go down fighting. The Montenegrin Parliament, controlled by Mr. Djukanovic, has announced that it will no longer respect the laws promulgated by the federal Parliament. It said it would not recognize the new Prime Minister and would ignore the dictates of Mr. Milosevic.
''Montenegro, every day, takes one step further away from Belgrade,'' a European ambassador said, ''and this is one step closer toward intervention from the military to shut down the Djukanovic government. We are nearing a point where this becomes open rebellion.''
Mr. Milosevic has begun to undermine the Montenegrin government, which in theory is an equal partner with Serbia in the Yugoslav federation. He has halted pension payments and federal funds to Montenegro.
He has banned Mr. Djukanovic from assuming his constitutional role in the federal Government and publicly humiliated him, refusing to invite him to the ceremony commemorating the establishment of Yugoslavia or allow him to take his seat in the federal defense council.
The Government-run media in Belgrade are full of reports of plans by Djukanovic supporters for election fraud in parliamentary elections on May 31. Mr. Bulatovic has called on his followers to gather in the streets and ''react'' if the vote is stolen.
When Mr. Djukanovic was inaugurated in January, Mr. Milosovic's supporters staged several days of street protests with the assistance of toughs bused in from Serbia. Montenegrin officials say they are preparing for another round of violence after the parliamentary voting, which Mr. Djukanovic is expected to win.
''Please don't try and tell us that the Albanians and the Muslims are the ones who are now going to help us protect Montenegro from Yugoslavia,'' Mr. Bulatovic said to roars of approval at a recent rally.
Milosevic supporters have marched through the streets of Podgorica, the Montenegrin capital, chanting, ''Who will be the first and who will be the second to drink Turkish blood?''
It is the ethnic chauvinism of Mr. Milosevic and Mr. Bulatovic, directed at the 20 percent of the population who are ethnic Albanians and Muslims, that may prove to be the most combustible element in the schism.
Impoverished rural farmers, after years of state propaganda, have come to believe in conspiracy theories that portray the outside world as bent on the destruction of the Serbs.
''The war in Yugoslavia was directed by the West to weaken and destroy us,'' said a 63-year-old farmer, who spoke on condition of anonymity. ''Now the West is at it again. The Serbs must stay in one state.''
Ubli, 10 miles northwest of Podgorica, is a collection of bleak stone huts, surrounded by rocky walls that pen in sheep and cattle. As in many parts of Montenegro, tribal and clan loyalties outweigh the dictates of the state. It is here that Mr. Bulatovic and Mr. Milosevic find their most zealous support.
Senada Malezic, 25, and Merima Redzic, 30, stood in an afternoon drizzle waiting for Mr. Djukanovic to appear at a small rally. The women are Muslims and said the verbal attacks against minorities were making their lives increasingly difficult.
''We are frightened,'' said Ms. Malezic, who is unemployed. ''We don't want to end up like Bosnia. Suddenly Muslims are again blamed for the mess.''
Many opposition figures view the clash with despair. They argue that there is no substantive difference between the two rival Serbian leaders. Mr. Djukanovic has an iron grip on the media in Montenegro, the police and the other levers of power, just as Mr. Milosevic does in Serbia.
Mr. Djukanovic also amassed a personal fortune by smuggling gasoline and cigarettes into the country in defiance of international sanctions imposed during the war, a fortune that would not have been possible without the help of Mr. Milosevic.
''All Communist regimes preserve power by making war against outer and inner enemies,'' said Slavko Perovic, the head of the Liberal Party. ''Djukanovic and Milosevic are the same. They need each other. This is the Rubik's cube of the Balkans.''
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interesting