Posted on 03/14/2002 9:05:20 AM PST by bob808
Yugoslav partners sign historic deal
The new country will be called ´Serbia and Montenegro´
Serbia and Montenegro have signed a landmark accord which will consign the name Yugoslavia to history and shelve Montenegro´s plans for independence.
Under the deal, the two remaining partners in the Yugoslav Federation will become two semi-independent states, running their own economies, currencies and customs systems.
According to the Serbian Prime Minister, Zoran Djindjic, the new entity will be called "Serbia and Montenegro".
He said it would retain a federal presidency, and a shared defence and foreign policy.
The deal was reached under the mediation of the European Union, and signed by President Kostunica, Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic, Mr Djindjic and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
Western worries
The development will resolve, for the time being, Montenegro´s demands for full independence from the dominant Serbian republic.
The West was keen to prevent Montenegro splitting away, fearing that this would send a signal to Albanians in Kosovo and Macedonia and Serbs in Bosnia that regional boundaries can be redrawn.
The EU stepped into discussions after talks between the two sides broke down last November. Both sides were told that reaching an agreement would assist their efforts to join the Western club.
Montenegro´s campaign for independence began with the election in June 1998 of Mr Djukanovic, a leading opponent of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.
Mr Djukanovic promised the tiny 650,000-strong Adriatic republic a referendum on the issue, but the Serbian prime minister said that step had now been shelved.
Djukanovic still has to sell the deal to pro-independence groups
Mr Djukanovic still however has to sell the deal back home in Montenegro, which is bitterly divided on the subject of independence. His minority government depends on a the support of a staunchly separatist party.
Providing the deal is passed by both the parliaments of both republics, as well as the federal assembly, the accord will be incorporated in new constitutions by June and elections for a new union parliament will be held in the autumn.
The deal is the latest dramatic alteration to a federation which has changed shape considerably over the past decade.
Four republics declared independence during the 1990s, leaving the tiny Montenegro and Serbia the only remaining partners in the once sprawling federation.
Slovenia and Macedonia managed to break away relatively peacefully, while declarations of independence in Bosnia and Croatia led to the worst violence and war crimes seen in Europe since World War II.
By the way, does anyone know what happened to our Balkans list?
This doesn't bode well for the uncanonical breakaway "Montenegrin Orthodox Church."
Greetings from a Serbinegrin ;-)
It's a cosmetic change. But the body will still be dead, no matter how much makeup you slap on it. In essence, the non-functioning, non-viable "federation" will remain just that, except it will be "legal" ta have a single "country" with 2 currencies, and similar nonsense.
The best part is the new name -- the achronym will be S&M.
Wonder what the new national anthem will be? "Beat me"? Or the flag (skull, bones and chains?).
Just one of those "minor" inconsistencies no one seems to pay any attention to -- such as the ruling coalition in Serbia still calls itself "opposition." Duh! And the new "federation" will still be anything but a federation. Congratulations!
As long as everybody (else) is happy...
Not so sure about the Albanians, though...
'cos now Kosovo will be the part of SERBIA and SERBIA&Montenegro...
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