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Montenegrin Government Sets Plan for Independence
The Montenegrin government announced on Thursday its decision to seek independence from Belgrade, causing a split in the ruling party coalition.
The Montenegrin government declared that relations between Mongtegro and Serbia, currently two republics within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, should be like two internationally-recognized independent states within a federation, according to reports from the state news agency Tanjug.
The Socialist People's Party (SNP), a bloc of the ruling coalition, said it does not agree with the statement and has decided to quit the coalition. All four of its members in government have resigned.
According to the official statement, a referendum will be held to define what kind of independence the two states will have and how to set up a federation.
Earlier this week, Montenegrin president Milo Djukanovic said a referendum will be held on this issue by mid 2001.
In the statement, the pro-independence force also elaborated that it seeks common defense and diplomatic policies, an integrated market and exchangeable currencies for the new federation.
The federal institution will comprise a single chamber Parliament, a president and a committee of ministers.
Montenegro, a tiny republic controlling Yugoslavia's only outlet to the sea, plus a much larger Serbia, formed the Yugoslav federation in 1992. Relations between the two have always been strained, and ministers in Montenegro have repeatedly said they might seek independence.
Montenegro now has its own foreign policy and took control of the economy late last year, when it legalized the German mark as a currency parallel to the Yugoslav dinar. Belgrade was worried by this move and imposed a trade sanction on the Serb border.
When reformists took power in Serbia in September, Montenegrin prime minister Filip Vujanovic said that Serbia's Democratic Opposition that backs Vojislav Kostunica will be a good partner for Montenegro in talks over the future of the joint federation.
The gesture was widely regarded as a response to Kostunica's claim that one of his top priorities was to patch up ties with Montenegro.
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