TiM Bulletin 96-10 Oct. 1996

Yugoslavia's Shaky Union Montenegro Poised to Break Away? From a Hero Serb Tribe to a Vassal Nation?

PHOENIX, Oct. 27, 1996 - Montengro is getting ready to leave its union with Serbia (the two republics form the so-called "rump Yugoslavia"), according to an Associated Press report filed from Budva, Montenegro.

The government has even hired (the German-born) model Claudia Schiffer to advertise tourism in its efforts to create a "Western" image for Montenegro.

''Economic ties with the United States are our absolute priority,'' Montenegro’s President, Momir Bulatovic told AP. ''We want American businessmen to come and see if they can find an economic interest in Montenegro.''

''Schiffer is just the start,'' said Ratko Knezevic, the head of the Washington trade mission. ''We want the world to know that we're not the same as Serbia.''

But there are also other signs of Montenegro’s getting ready to break away from Serbia. Checkpoints have emerged at mutual borders between Serbia and Montenegro; local police wear completely different

uniforms, with those of the Montenegrins’ being American-tailored; the recently-introduced mobile phone systems in Serbia and Montenegro are incompatible; and last but not least, last month, Montenegro opened its own trade mission in Washington, despite the fact that Yugoslavia, a founding member of the United Nations, has maintained an embassy in Washington since before WW II.

"Signs of Montenegro's dissatisfaction are everywhere and leaders of both nations are quarreling over their shared economy," the AP report notes. Although Montenegro’s leaders don’t want to provoke an open fight with Slobodan Milosevic, Serbia’s President, "the signs of gradual separation are everywhere."

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The preceding should, of course, come as no surprise to you, the regular Truth in Media readers. Here’s an excerpt from the Truth in Media Bulletin 96-05, May 27, 1996, written upon our return from a trip to Serbia and Bosnia. It may be helpful to read the first part, "No New Capital for Serbia," in order to understand the full context of our reasoning for an eventual Montenegrin secession in the second, "Carrots and Sticks:"

Talk to anyone in Belgrade, from cab drivers and shopkeepers, to the top political, academic and artistic leaders, and you’ll hear the same story: "Life sucks. Mafia rules." One taxi driver said indignantly that it would insult his intelligence to vote for any politician under these circumstances. "The whole system is corrupt," he said. "I don’t want to be taken for a fool."

A small group of people, including Milosevic and the former communist elite around him, have gotten enormously rich by smuggling "forbidden goods" during the three and a half years of the U.N. sanctions. Most of the rest of Serbia’s population, however, has had to fight for bare existence. And to support the nearly one million refugees from Bosnia and Croatia, while being branded as "aggressor" by the international community.

Meanwhile, by refusing to lift the so-called "outer wall" of sanctions, the U.S. has ensured that no new capital is entering Serbia, except for the payments from the Serbian "Gast Arbeiters" (guest workers) in Europe. "Americans are blocking all the funds," a Western diplomat said.

So what more does Milosevic have to do before new Western money starts coming in? The following three things, according to the State Department:

Demonstrate full co-operation regarding the implementation of the Dayton agreement, specifically....

• Free elections in Bosnia, with another sub-point being his...

• Co-operation with the War Crimes Tribunal

Resolve all issues with the former YU republics (specifically Croatia and Slovenia, as problems with Macedonia have been worked out) regarding the rights and obligations resulting from the break-up of Yugoslavia.

• Resolve the Kosovo issue

But what specifically is he expected to do about Kosovo, for example?

"It’s kind of like what they say about pornography: You know it when you see it," replied a U.S. diplomat close to the situation.

In other words, even if Milosevic were to meet all these conditions, the U.S. could still claim that his acting is not yet up to the American "pornography" standards. (Which requires total nudity and immorality - meaning giving up Kosovo). And it could send Milosevic back to try harder before auditioning again for the role of the "Great Balkan Prostitute."

But even some NATO allies are balking at such a one-sided U.S. power play. The British position on Kosovo, for example, is that Milosevic should extend an olive branch to local Albanians, and make a "bona fide" offer for them to gain some form of autonomy. "If the Albanians turn the offer down, why should we continue to blame the Serbs?" wondered a senior British diplomat.

The British have a similar attitude vis-à-vis the outstanding border and financial disputes between Serbia and Croatia. "Otherwise, the Croats could hold us all up for ransom forever," the diplomat said.

Which may be actually the point of this anti-Serbian American policy.

"Carrots" and "Sticks"

But if Serbia continues to get the "stick," even after all Milosevic’s concessions, who gets the "carrot?"

The Muslims and the Croats, first and foremost, of course, but also Montenegro, a junior partner in the new Yugoslav federation. Unlike Serbia, Montenegro is getting some Western capital. Its Prime Minister and President (Milo Djukanovic and Momir Bulatovic) have been wined and dined during the last six months in all the right places (read top government and banking circles) in Washington, New York, London...

What did the tiny Montenegro (600,000 people) do to deserve all this attention?

Well, it is strategically located between Croatia, Bosnia and Albania. And it provides Yugoslavia’s only access to the Adriatic Sea. If the current U.S. "carrot" policy bears fruit, it will create an economic gap between Serbia and Montenegro. Sooner or later, the wealthier Montenegrins may start to wonder why they need Belgrade in the first place (emphasis added). If Montenegro were to leave the Yugoslav federation, Serbia would become a land-locked country, starved of capital, yet full of refugees and ethnic minorities (Albanians, Hungarians, Rumanians, etc.) - a cesspool of internal trouble. If Milosevic/Serbia resisted the Montenegrin secession, a civil war among the Serbs would not be out of the question.

Either way, such an outcome would be the fulfillment of the "How to Defeat Serbia" scenario written by David Gompert and published in the July/August 1994 issue of FOREIGN AFFAIRS, the voice of the Council for Foreign Relations (CFR). The CFR globalists’ recipe which usually becomes U.S. policy, advocated the "conduct of a cold war against Serbia - one of indefinite duration but certain outcome." Gompert, the former director for Europe and Eurasia in George Bush’s National Security Council, also urged an "economic war in perpetuity" and "unforgiving punishment" against "an unrepentant Serbia."

Today’s Serbia is anything but unrepentant, but the globalists’ punishment is nonetheless still unforgiving... (one could second that now, in August 1999, couldn't one?).

Well, after the November 3 (1996) Yugoslav elections, the secessionists’ political position has only strengthened. The ruling Socialist Party won a huge majority in parliament, while the pro-Serbia Peoples Party got only eight seats.

Also, check out..."US Euro Policy Destroying Own Creations", "Do As I Say, Not As I Do", "Like Watergate, Cover-up Worse Than Original Crime" , "The Great American Divide Widens",  and "US Senate Picks Up the NATO Hot Potato" 

Or Djurdjevic's WASHINGTON TIMES column: "Rekindling NATO to Fuel Cold War..." or his CHRONICLES columns: "A Bear in Sheep's Clothing", "Wiping Out the Middle Class."