MILOSEVIC AND MONTENEGRIN DIVISIONS

Below the Minimum

AIM Podgorica, 10 June, 1997

When the envoy of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), Milorad Vucelic, opened his boss's magic bag in the presence of his friends in Podgorica, its contents in the form of the official candidacy of Slobodan Milosevic for president of FRY and the initiative to amend the federal Constitution on the occasion, the effects on the split in the Democratic Party of Socialists and the Montenegrin state leadership were similar to those of explosion of a time bomb. The split - pro and con Milosevic - was from the beginning one of the major causes of confrontation of the leaders of party factions, but when Milosevic's ambition was made official not only to formally take Lilic's place, but to rule the federal state in the manner he has been ruling Serbia and its surroundings during all this time, deepened the gap between prime minister Milo Djukanovic and president of the republic Momir Bulatovic to the very bottom: the one who loses will either move to the dump of politics or behind bars.

After all the major state agencies, since he seems to have also lost support in party organizations on the level of the Republic, President Bulatovic appealed to his party comrades from municipalities in the north of Montenegro to initiate convening of an emergency congress of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), hoping that there he would finally be able to break Djukanovic. This was followed by demands of party organizations which support Djukanovic to have the highest party authority investigate responsibility of Bulatovic for the split in the party. The prime minister actually initiated a campaign for replacement of Bulatovic, or at least for prevention of his candidacy for the second presidential mandate. By stating that it was "unheard of and unprecedented that a statesman has ever denounced so badly the state he was at the head of and been so destructive", at a recent press conference Djukanovic qualified the president of the Republic as an "irresponsible political figure, unworthy of the high post he occupies and long tradition of Montenegrin statehood".

Milosevic's aspiration to the federal throne is no news, especially not since his wife declared in Salonica that her husband would not run in the presidential elections in Serbia. But, only the quarrelling leadership of the Montenegrin party in power could have known that Vucelic was also bringing other gifts. Vice-president of the SPS, in a statement after negotiations with the coalition partner in Podgorica, expressedly tried to explain that the proposed constitutional amendments (Articles 97 and 98) referred solely to the manner in which the president of the federal state would be elected - he would be elected by the people in direct elections and not by the federal Assembly - and that they in no way encroach upon his former constitutional authorizations. While Vucelic's main interlocutor, vice-president of the DPS, Milica Pejanovic-Djurisic, was uttering the words of reservation towards the initiative from Belgrade and announcing that the final decision would be made by the Main Board of her party, the impression was not of amicability and heartiness.

A more profound political analysis of motives and results of Milosevic's wish to change the federal Constitution was given by prime minister Milo Djukanovic with a special review of the role in it of president Momir Bulatovic and his secret Belgrade dinners. "It is a frivolous state which amends its constitution according to each of its presidents", said Prime Minister at the press conference. After assessing that the manner of election of the president of FRY was an essential question of equality of Montenegro, Djukanovic concluded that if the Constitution were amended in the proposed sense, Montenegro would not be able to decisively influence the decision who would be at the head of the joint state.

The Prime Minister expressed conviction that all relevant political forces in Montenegro agreed not to amend the federal Constitution. He obviously does not include the President of the Republic among the "relevant political forces". Djukanovic explains Bulatovic's attacks against the Government and the Prime Minister by the fact that the president is "evidently in discord with more or less entire Montenegro and in a hopeless dispute with himself". But all that has a deeper sense which has emerged from Vucelic's bag: "Fabricated accusations of the Government of separatism, crime, division between the north and the south etc. are definitely unmasked as a smokescreen for the key political plan devised at one of the secret Belgrade dinners to change the federal constitution and in this way undoubtedly change the position of Montenegro in Yugoslavia", the Prime Minister analyses secret results of the President's public political love affair.

Djukanovic's thesis on political consensus in Montengro against amendment of the Constitution was confirmed in the statements of the chairman of the assembly Svetozar Marovic and leaders of the main opposition parties. Logistic support to this agreement was given by the president of the Constitutional Court of Montenegro, Prof. Dr Blagota Mitric. It is surprising according to him that amendment of the constitution on election of the president of FRY is suggested by the same people who only recently conceived it. "Were they in fact, with the norm now in force and with the proposed amendment, just making a frame for somebody's picture", the Professor gives the diagnosis in the form of a question. He believes that accepting of the amendment of Article 97 of the Constitution of FRY (manner of election of the president) would in a foreseeable future also imply amendment of Article 96 (president's rights and responsibilities).

Professor Mitric claims that amendment of Articles 97 and 98 of the Constitution would also imply change of the constitutional position of the federal parliament ("there is the rub"). This especially refers to the position and competencies of the Chamber of the Republics of the federal Assembly. Amendment of certain articles of constitutions of the federal units would also be necessary. "The change of the position and constitutional competencies of the Chamber of the Republics in the federal Assembly would greatly jeopardize the constitutional principle of equality of federal units in the system of power", President of the Montenegrin Constitutional Court deduces in the interview given to pro-regime daily Pobjeda.

Leading personages in the authorities believe there is a link between Milosevic's candidacy for president of the federal state and the initiative for amendment of the constitution. A conclusion could be drawn that the ruling party will, partly sincerely, and partly unwillingly, support the offer of a political home for the Serbian president, but that it will not, at least for the time being, agree to constitutional amendments. The effect of such a "victory" will be thin: Milosevic has already shown that he is perfectly capable of ruling without and outside institutions, if he controls media and police, of course.

After the mentioned negotiations with Vucelic's delegation, Milica Pejanovic-Djurisic declared that candidacy of the coalition partner was received with respect and that DPS would formulate its stance at the session of the Main Board, while she said in advance that constitutional changes were unacceptable for her party, although about this too, decision would be made by the top agency of the party.

Vigorously rejecting constitutional amendments, Prime Minister Djukanovic put election of Milosevic onto a different level. He reminded of his previously publicly stated negative stance about this candidacy ("Milosevic is an out-dated politician"), but, since this was an official nomination of the coalition partner, "DPS must seriously decide on this specific proposal".

Vice prime minister Miodrag Vukovic, one of the authors of the Constitution of FRY drawn up on mount Zabljak, suggests that the initiative for election of the president of the state should be distinguished from the initiative for amendment of the Constitution, regardless of whether they were given together or separately. He is in general against changes of the constitutional norms, but he says he will state his opinion about the personnel solution at the session of the Main Board, he says. Vice prime minister Vukovic, who considers himself to be a jurisprudence expert, explains constitutional amendments with more "subtlety" than the President of the Constitutional Court, in accordance with his more delicate political position in the current split at the top (people would say: wishy-washy). For him, the initiative is "politically understandable from the aspect of those who proposed it, because they express their political interest through it, their political stance and their political orientation". To the question of Pobjeda whether the proposed amendments of the Constitution bring Montenegro in an unequal position and whether they imply its marginalization in the federal state, Vukovic answers by reminding of his own thought that "what we need least of all are perfective verbs; one should not be hasty and prematurely make judgements".

This formulation seems to be a sublimation of the position of confinement of Montenegro on the eve of crucial decision-making. The initiative about amendment of the federal Constitution coming from the highest level of Serbian policy is a shot in the Achilles' heel of Montenegrin state and party leadership. It was proud of constitutional solutions, since, it was explained, Montenegro had by them ensured the "minimum under which it would not go" (M. Bulatovic) in the joint state. But this was always a doubtful alibi for undemocratic and illegitimate referendum on the union of Serbia and Montenegro in 1992, while the war was raging all around them. And now, Milosevic is setting a new minimum...

Ljubisa MITROVIC (AIM Podgorica)