President Hints At Allowing Breakaway

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday October 14, 2000

Simon Mann in Belgrade

Yugoslavia's new President, Mr Vojislav Kostunica, has suggested he may be willing to offer independence to the republic of Montenegro, as Western powers yesterday continued their rush to embrace the country's new administration.

Mr Kostunica, in an interview with Italian television, said the will of the people of Montenegro ``must be respected" even if it meant secession for Serbia's junior partner.

His offer, made on the eve of a visit to the region, is likely to anger ordinary Serbs who resent the disintegration of the Yugoslav federation over the past decade and the occupation of Kosovo by 65,000 NATO troops and United Nations administrators.

The comments could also complicate negotiations between the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS), which underpins Mr Kostunica's presidency, and old guard Socialists who have sought to retain control of the Serbian Parliament.

DOS leaders have given members of the Socialist Party of Serbia, headed by deposed president Slobodan Milosevic, until today to agree to a date for early parliamentary elections and back a plan for interim administrators. A Belgrade radio station last night reported that the parties had scheduled December 24 for the poll.

The hand of the reformers was further strengthened by a former senior Socialist Party official, Mr Zoran Lilic, who said Milosevic and his associates should resign from their positions following last month's election debacle.

He also warned that Yugoslavia was on the verge of ``serious conflicts".

Earlier, United States President Bill Clinton lifted the US's oil embargo and flight ban on Yugoslavia, following this week's lead by the European Union.

``The victory of freedom in Serbia is one of the most hopeful developments in Europe since the fall of the Berlin Wall," he said, adding that the US had a ``strong interest" in backing the new leadership in Belgrade.

The two countries agreed to take steps towards normalising their relationship. Britain also announced it wanted to renew official links.

Meanwhile, the purge that has swept aside old guard leaders of commerce and other institutions continued. On Thursday, shareholders of Beogradska Banka voted to remove Milosevic's chief banker as its head, the independent news agency Beta reported.

Serbs dream of freedom Pages 18, 19

© 2000 Sydney Morning Herald

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