Military

DATE=10/20/00

TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT

TITLE=YUGOSLAVIA / KOSOVO AND MONTENEGRO

NUMBER=5-47208

BYLINE=EVE CONANT

DATELINE=BELGRADE

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: As Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica works to form his new government, the rest of the Yugoslav federation - which includes Montenegro and the Serbian province of Kosovo now under the administration of the United Nations - are working to understand just what the fall of Slobodan Milosevic will mean. V-O-A Correspondent Eve Conant in Belgrade reports how the end of the Milosevic era is affecting the much-publicized drives for independence within Montenegro and Kosovo.

TEXT: As Vojislav Kostunica was sworn in as Yugoslavia's new president he made it clear he would not allow the breakup of the Yugoslav federation.

/// KOSTUNICA ACT - IN SERBIAN - FADE UNDER ///

He says, "we will make the bonds between Serb and Montenegro firmer than ever and we will succeed in increasing the sovereignty of Yugoslavia over Kosovo, part of our territory on which our sovereignty is not being fully exercised."

A leading U-S adviser on the Balkans also doused cold water on the Montenegrin drive for independence. After his first talks with President Kostunica, the diplomat said now that Mr. Milosevic is out of power, the issue of Montenegrin independence is simply "closed."

Forming a government is proving difficult for President Kostunica because he is expected to have a prime minister from Montenegro, Serbia's smaller, sister republic. But Montenegro's reformist leadership boycotted the September 24th elections, a move which allowed supporters of former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic to win a sweeping majority in parliamentary and municipal seats.

Political analyst Bratislav Grubacic says Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic will want to redefine federal relations with Yugoslavia's new President Kostunica.

/// GRUBACIC ACT 1 ///

Djukanovic boycotted these elections on the 24th of September and there are a lot of people saying that he really betrayed the opposition here and made a mistake. I wouldn't be so tough on Djukanovic. Before the elections, he didn't have so many choices. The issue of secession of Montenegro will drop down, but what will remain to be done between Kostunica and Djukanovic, and later on the new authorities in Serbia, will be to try to redefine relations between Montenegro and Serbia within the Yugoslav federation and try to find a solution which will be acceptable for both sides.

/// END ACT ///

Mr. Grubacic says one option - a Montenegrin proposal for a "confederation of Serbia and Montenegro" - could come to the table.

The fall of Slobodan Milosevic also has affected the drive for independence among ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

/// OPT /// In the days before the September 24th election, there was concern among ethnic Albanians, like shop owner Selim Dehari, that a Kostunica victory would dampen international support for independence.

/// OPT // DEHARI ACT - IN ALBANIAN - FADE UNDER ///

/// OPT /// He says, "If Milosevic stays in power it is better for Kosovo, we will gain our independence even faster."

/// OPT /// There was little support for Mr. Kostunica among Kosovo Serbs as well, with many fearing that his good relations with the West would lead to their abandonment inside U-N administered Kosovo. /// END OPT///

President Kostunica has made it clear to Western leaders that international agreements which keep Kosovo as part of Serbia remain intact.

Political analyst Grubacic says ethnic Albanians have hurt their own chances for independence by committing bloody revenge attacks against Serbs in Kosovo throughout the past year.

/// GRUBACIC ACT 2 ///

The Kosovo issue is not solved; it's just frozen. Now with these changes in Serbia and particularly because Albanians in (the) last one year since NATO air strikes have shown they are not an innocent partner in the game, maybe the idea of a partition of Kosovo might reemerge as an idea. Who knows what will be the final outcome, but definitely Kosovo will become again an open issue, this time not as a factor of war, but it will be really a serious political issue with no clear outcome at the end.

/// END ACT ///

/// OPT /// Serbs like Milaja Ilic, however, say they worry President Kostunica will take too soft a stance on Kosovo, compared to that of ousted leader Slobodan Milosevic.

/// OPT // ILIC ACT ///

As far as I'm concerned, Milosevic is my hero and always will be because he tried to save Serbs from aggression in Kosovo. Now the trouble in Kosovo is nothing new, it has been there for hundreds of years.

/// END ACT ///

/// OPT /// Ninety-nine-year old Adem Ademovic is a Muslim from Bosnia. He sits on a park bench with an older Serb man he has been friends with for decades.

/// OPT // ADEMOVIC ACT - IN SERBIAN - FADE UNDER TRANSLATION ///

Kosovo has always been Serbian and can't just be separated from Serbia. It will take time. Temporary solutions will have to be found, but ultimately Kosovo stays in Serbia.

/// END ACT // END OPT ///

The hope here is that the question of Kosovo might be resolved not by war, but by what President Kostunica described as "peaceful negotiations with the world community." If so, that would mean that the wars and bloodshed that characterized the Milosevic era might have finally come to end. (Signed)

NEB/EC/KL/JWH