Montenegrin Recruits Will (Not) Go to Kosovo

Social Democrats Demand that Montenegrins Not Be Sent to Kosovo

If the Army of Yugoslavia becomes involved in resolution of the problem of Kosovo, will the citizens of Montenegro have to be killed again for the sake of other people's political ambitions and medieval myths? The latest conflicts in Kosovo added significance and topicality to the last week's initiative of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) which demanded that the recruits from Montenegro not be sent to Kosovo

AIM Podgorica, 4 March, 1998

The fuse on the gunpowder barrel called Kosovo is quickly burning. At least twenty persons have lost their lives in conflicts between the police and Kosovo Albanians last weekend. After several-years' interruption, news broadcast by state media are beginning again with the reports on "sporadic shooting" which are accompanied by pictures of the killed members of the ministry of internal affairs of Serbia. Officially, the Army of Yugoslavia has not participated in the conflicts of Kosovo, but the number of persons is increasing who fear that its engagement will sooner or later become inevitable.

The latest conflicts in Kosovo have added significance and topicality to last week's initiative of the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) of Montenegro in which it was demanded from all the relevant political parties in this Republic to support the proposal according to which recruits from Montenegro would not go to Kosovo until measures for reinforcement of confidence were not taken there and until a dialogue was established - "until an agreement is reached". The direct cause of this reaction of the SDP was the call-up of young men along Montenegrin coast, who are, being professional sailors, in fact recruited by the navy, to report to the military barracks in Kosovo to serve their time.

"However, not only sailors are a cause for concern, the entire youth must be the concern of political Montenegro. As it has always been, Montenegro is an inexhaustable reserve for the regime when new recruits are concerned who will be used as cannon fodder", said Ranko Krivokapic, vice-president of the SDP, concluding that "politics is allowed to err in everything, except in avoiding war and death".

If indeed, the Army of Yugoslavia will be engaged in resolution of the problem of Kosovo, will the citizens of Montenegro again have to be killed for the sake of other people's political ambitions and medieval myths? Can '91 be repeated? If there are those who have forgotten, let us be reminded - defence of Serbdom and at the time just formally existing SFRY, in the "war for peace", brought to Montenegro the indelible shame and humiliation, and sent to the scaffold more than 120 of its citizens. More than 35 thousand conscripts from Montenegro were engaged in war operations without the then (and mostly the current) Montenegrin authorities literally knowing where they were and what their mobilized subjects were doing!? Having learnt, after a TV report, that Montenegrin members of the reserve forces were in Banija, Momir Bulatovic pleaded and begged the military and the state leadership to have them sent back to Montenegro or at least to enable them to join the units which were manifesting their "loyalty to Yugoslavia" in Konavle and under the walls of Dubrovnik.

It seems that nowadays nobody in Montenegro knows how many recruits are doing their military service in units stationed in Kosovo. According to interpretation of the employees of the Army of Yugoslavia, this information is classified. Nevertheless, based on statistical and other data, it can be assumed that there are at least several hundred of them, if not even more than one thousand. They might very soon become participants in a conflict which Montenegro can in no way influence. That is why it is only understandable why parents are disturbed and alarmed, and why, like Fadila Smailovic from Bijelo Polje, they are touring offices of political parties and state institutions trying to arrange the return from Kosovo of their sons-soldiers to barracks located in Montenegro. The case from Kotor also illustrates that the Army has a problem of filling its ranks. The secretary for town planning over there, Nikola Bukilica, who has the commission as captain in reserve forces, was called up "as indispensable for the fatherland", although he had returned his equipment before the '91 Dubrovnik operation!

It should be stressed that the current demand of the SDP is not a novelty. When the draft law on the Army of Yugoslavia was in the parliamentary procedure, the amendment proposed by the SDP of Montenegro demanding that recruits do their military service in the Army in their respective republics was supported by the Serb Revival Movement (SPO) and the Democratic Party (DS). This was against the will of the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS). At the time, the Montenegrins also happened to give up its Territorial Defence. Some time later, from the Cetinje convention of the Liberal Alliance of Montenegro (LSCG), the Liberal Youth appealed at the young people of Montenegro "not to be recruits and soldiers of somebody else's army". After that, certain correspondents of pro-regime media reported that "criminal proceedings against the president of LSCG, Slavko Perovic will be instigated", while the Montenegrin minister of justice Miodrag Latkovic warned: "I believe that noone is allowed to use immunity as the pretext for such a speech. The reputation of FRY must not be insulted and noone is allowed to demand that military service be avoided".

The proposal of the SDP was given big publicity and caused tumultous reactions - from restraint, accusations of treason and separatism, all the way to approval and announced support. The officials of Momir Bulatovic's party, federal ministers Pavle Bulatovic and Zoran Knezevic raised hue and cry against the SDP and Ranko Krivokapic who in the name of this party presented this "anti-constitutional" proposal "which disintegrated FRY". "Anyone may think whatever one pleases, but the Constitution is one and we must all observe it", Zoran Lilic joined his colleagues from the federal government. Although the Constitution refers to everyone, members of the federal government have no objection to the behavior of the federal prime minister Radoje Kontic who "not on his life" wishes to comment on the developments in Kosovo, although, according to the Constitution, his job includes pursuing internal and foreign policy of FRY.

But, can such stands be resisted pursuant the laws and the Constitution? The Constitution of FRY (Article 135) is precise: "The president of the Republic is in command of the Army of Yugoslavia, in war and in peace, in accordance with the decisions of the Supreme Defence Council". In other words, for the time being, Belgrade decides about Montenegrin "war and peace". Hardly anything will change in this sense by the election of Djukanovic for the president and his membership in the Supreme Defence Council. The relation of forces in it is pinned down: two votes from Serbia (Milosevic and Milutinovic), against one from Montenegro (Djukanovic).

Therefore, a political consensus should be reached in Montenegro about participation of recruits in "pouring oil on troubled waters" of Kosovo. And for that consensus - agreement of the ruling DPS is necessary. But, the authorities in Podgorica are undecided - at the same time, they would and would not accept participation in unravelling the tangle ravelled for decades. The current situation is unbearable from the economic, political and every other aspect. Montenegro as part of FRY cannot return into the world before the problem of Kosovo is resolved, which, for the time being is solely "the internal issue of Serbia". But, according to some opinions, even having one's hands tied is better that direct engagement which implies the risk of suffering (war) consequences. And resoluteness has never been a predominant characteristic of the DPS.

That is why representatives of Montenegrin authorities and the ruling party have remained silent after the initiative of the SDP. "Distribution of recruits is the job of those who are in command of the army pursuant the Constitution and the law", declared one of the leaders of the DPS, Milan Gajovic. He failed to explain how one of those "who are in command of the army" - president of Montenegro Milo Djukanovic - can do his job when he cannot even initiate convening of a session of the Supreme Defence Council. It is an established fact that, "pursuant the Constitution and the laws of FRY", and thanks primarily to the DPS, Montenegrin assembly and government have absolutely no jurisdiction in the domain of defence, that is, have no right to decision-making on the lives of the citizens of Montenegro. Probably, that is why it can happen that the Army of Yugoslavia closes Montenegrin borders, shoots at the boats which belong to the Ministry of internal affairs of Montenegro, and sends to Kosovo Montenegrin sailors and officers of the merchant marine recruited for the navy.

And while the DPS is wavering, The National Party, the LSCG, the Party of Democratic Action and the Albanian national parties support the proposal of the SDP, that is the need to initiate a serious and with (valid) arguments discussion about departure of Montenegrin recruits to Kosovo. The Cetinje organization of the Liberal Alliance went a step further. They proposed that the citizens decide in a referendum whether they and their children are ready to wear uniforms outside the borders of Montenegro. It would be interesting to see results of such a declaration of will of the citizens, on condition that the ruling party accepts the offered challenge and, of course, that it does not do it too late.

Zoran RADULOVIC

AIM Podgorica