Balkan Betrayal
By Milo Djukanovic
Tuesday, August 20, 2002; Page A13
A destabilizing, anti-reform coalition supported by certain
bureaucracies of the European Union is threatening to set back the
progress of democracy in Montenegro.
Since the signing in March of the Belgrade agreement on a new
Serb-Montenegrin union, a combination of forces within Yugoslavia has
tried to hijack the negotiation process and force Montenegro into a
tighter Serbian orbit. Among these forces are loyalists of former
Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, militants supporting the Bosnian
Serb wartime leader, Radovan Karadzic, Liberal Party leaders and various
members of Yugoslav security services.
Now this anti-democratic axis has managed to gain the ear of some
political circles in Brussels and in some Western European countries.
These policymakers naively believe that pushing out the current
pro-Western government in Montenegro will ensure stability by preventing
Montenegro from gaining self-determination and national independence --
an option that the two republics can, under the Belgrade agreement,
exercise after three years.
For several months the EU bureaucracy in Brussels has in effect tried to
rewrite the agreement. Its ostensible goal is to establish uniformity
within the Serb-Montenegrin union, but in practice this has meant
pushing for Montenegro's economic subordination to Belgrade, even though
the aspiring state has a much more liberal economy than Serbia, is
increasingly well prepared for free trade with the outside world and has
adopted the euro as its currency.
The most recent maneuvers by this anti-Montenegrin and anti-democratic
coalition have included abrupt changes in the media and election laws
after the scheduling of new parliamentary elections for Oct. 6. With
these changes, the pro-Yugoslav bloc is seeking to limit the scope of
human rights, free media and representation of minority groups in the
Montenegrin legislature. The Muslim and Albanian minorities have always
been part of the democratic bloc, seeing Montenegro as their own state
and participating in the work of the pro-independence government.
If the Montenegrin majority, which favors independence, and the
republic's national minorities are deprived of their political voice,
then the stage may be set for civil strife on a scale that could
destabilize both Montenegro and its neighbors.
To avert a descent into conflict, urgent action is needed by Washington
and Brussels. In particular, some European quarters should curtail
attempts to conduct European foreign policy through what are in fact
anti-European forces in Montenegro. If their pressures continue
unabated, they could precipitate a severe backlash that will derail the
vital reform program and set back the entire European project.
The democratic government of Montenegro will continue to seek assistance
from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and other
relevant bodies in the international community in its efforts to provide
for fair and democratic elections. Moreover, the democratic forces in
Montenegro are prepared to make compromises with all political parties
on election laws that are based on solid democratic principles. Any
further deterioration of the political situation in Montenegro could
endanger its democratic achievements, in which the American
administration, Congress and the people have invested much in recent
years. Without Washington's direct and impartial involvement, the EU's
attempts at state-building could provoke a serious new crisis in the
Balkans in coming months.
The writer is president of Montenegro.
C 2002 The Washington Post Company
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37960-2002Aug19.html
