Serb Reserve Forces in Montenegro

Struggle for Fuel

AIM Podgorica, 29 April, 1999

Official Belgrade is manifesting an increasing amount of impatience and inventiveness in its attempt to involve Montenegro to play a more active role in the armed conflict with NATO. After a series of "happenings" organised by Milosevic's followers in Montenegro, the attempts to hand call-up papers to members of the government, along with the indictments of the military court and subpoena, assaults on state and independent media and foreign correspondents who are staying in Montenegro, the arrests of local and murders of civilians who had fled from Kosovo, the Army of Yugoslavia (VJ) has decided to use new forms of pressure.

Montenegrin media informed that on Monday more than five hundred members of the reserve forces deployed in navy infantry units of VJ have arrived "to defend Montenegrin coast from possible NATO aggression". A day later, a correspondent of British The Independent informed that one third of 1,500 members of VJ (!) sent from Serbia had arrived in Bar. The others, according to the British daily, were deployed in other parts of Montenegro, including the demilitarised region of Prevlaka.

The official civilian and military sources in Montenegro have not even tried to explain the purpose of the unexpected "reinforcement". Only the deputy chairman of Montenegrin assembly Rifat Rastoder, commenting on the arrival of sailors from Cacak declared that he did not "see how they can help us, even if we needed help in the sense of military support". Rastoder then saw fit to stress that all the citizens of Cacak were welcome in Montenegro, "since Cacak is a friendly city, very devoted to the politics of Montenegro".

Velimir Ilic, mayor of Cacak, also sent a message that citizens of Montenegro had no reason for concern. "Knowing my fellow-citizens I can say that they are fine and decent guys", Ilic described his fellow-countrymen who turned up at the Adriatic coast by will of military authorities. Then he added that both he and his fellow-citizens "joined the democratic forces and the whole people of Montenegro who are persistently resisting the war-mongering policy pursued by Belgrade which for the sake of preservation of its own power does not shrink even from deliberate call to fratricidal war"!

To many, however, the very information about the arrival of Serb members of the reserve forces was a good enough reason to remember "liberation" brought in 1918 at the end of the First World War to Montenegro by the Serb army. And such memories are a strong reason why those who are cautious wonder in fear whether anything like the order given by Zivojin Misic on 19 Novemenr 1918 to the Serb army in Montenegro might be repeated: "Try by all possible energy and means to stifle all agitation on the territory occupied by our army. All the means you have are at your disposal for this; use them without any consideration".

Of course, it is clear that nowadays it would be much more difficult to issue and to carry out such an order. Montenegro is neither hungry, nor decimated by diseases and long years of waging war like at the end of the First World War. Therefore, estimates sound reasonable that the newly arrived reserve forces of VJ cannot destabilize Montenegro - even if such a task were assigned to them. In fact, everything indicates that domestic forces are engaged for such attempts.

What is then the motive of this illogical transfer? At a press conference for foreign journalists, in the attempt to dismiss numerous speculations, Zoran Zizic, vice-president of the Socialist National Party, explained that it was "the regular and quite normal regrouping of forces of VJ".

What Zizic concealed was additionally explained in Brussels, at one of the daily briefings at the seat of NATO. According to Reuters, NATO commander general Wesley Clark declared that "Yugoslav forces in Kosovo have in the past three or four days received reinforcements through call-up of reserve forces which are replacing those killed in combat". Clark clarified that the army and the police in Kosovo were reinforced by troops "from the Second Army stationed in Montenegro".

This corroborated the rumour about a specific "compensation" of members of reserve forces ("members of VJ from Serbia arrive in Montenegro, and those from Montenegro go to Sandzak and Kosovo"). Since such allegations have no official confirmation of Montenegrin civilian authorities, they are nothing but unverified rumours, but they are true being corroborated by declarations of members of families of Montenegrins from the reserve forces who have arrived in Serbia with their units. And the command of VJ sems to be preparing ground in silence: if reserve forces from Serbia can defend Montenegro, their comrades from Montenegro can defend Serbia - more precisely Kosovo!

On the other hand, arrival of Serb reserve forces to Montenegro, deliberately or not, coincided with efforts of VJ, by decision of the unrecognised federal government of Momir Bulatovic, to put under its control numerous private and state facilities, primarily Montenegrin oil reserves and oil derivates.

The first on the list were Jugopetrol's facilities at the Port of Bar and Boka Kotorska bay. According to statements of the heads of Montenegrin government, there are quantities in them sufficient to meet Montenegrin needs for two to four months. That is why it is understandable why anti-aircraft action from navy ships hidden in the Port of Bar caused panic in Montenegro. This was not only violation of international war convention, but port installations which are of invaluable significance for the economy of Montenegro were exposed to the risk of NATO strikes. Director of the Port of Bar Petrasin Kasalica was the most explicit in expressing justified concern that a hasty move of VJ could provoke bombing of port installations, among other two oil berths which are capable of receiving tankers with capacity between 5 and 80 thousand ton. That is the reason why military police is searching for him now, and his associates are hiding him with the explanation that "the director is away on a business trip".

But, the situation has slightly changed after oil facilities and tanks in Serbia have increasingly been destroyed. "Yugoslav Army badly needs fuel" NATO generals explained claiming that one third of army reserves have been destroyed. Introduction of the embargo on oil import has additionally increased the significance of the existing reserves in Montenegro - and the resoluteness to put them under control of military authorities.

Eyes of the Montenegrin public were turned towards Bar. That is where majority of members of the reserve forces from Serbia were deployed. But, the "struggle for fuel" began in the north of Montenegro.

On Monday, without having consulted the local authorities, VJ took over control of Jugopetrol's tanks in the vicinity of Bijelo Polje and started to use the stored fuel. VJ justifies its act claiming that this storage belongs to federal reserves, so they can use it pursuant the decision of the federal government. "We will take what is ours, and every new litre will be duly paid", the command of the Second Army allegedly stated. It seems, however, that Montenegrin civilian authorities still have not accepted this explanation and settled down with the "loss" of oil tanks and fuel stored in them. That is why the officials from the civilian administration describe the situation in Bijelo Polje briefly as - "strained".

At the time of peace these installations for intake and dispatch of fuel by tank trucks and railway were sufficient for the supply of the whole northern part of Montenegro. A big part of Serbian market was also supplied from there, the geographic position being considered its special advantage, in fact the vicinity and accessibility of these installations. That is why it seems that Montenegrin authorities, along with the loss of supplies of fuel, fear even more the possibility of these installations being put on the list of "legitimate targets" of NATO air force.

Confiscation of about twenty privately-owned vehicles caused additional nervousness in Bijelo Polje on Saturday. "Members of VJ not known to citizens of Bijelo Polje blocked the market and ordered the owners to empty the trucks and give them for the needs of the army", eye-witnesses say claiming that neither members of the regular army forces nor of the reserve forces from this part of Montenegro participated in this action. Not even the notorious Berane-Andrijevica brigade is suspected, "because someone would have recognised them".

Rumours link this event with the members of the reserve from Serbia, but there is not a single piece of evidence which would corroborate it, just as the arrival of Serb members of the reserve cannot be directly linked with last week's raid of VJ of the demilitarised "yellow zone" at the Montenegrin-Croatian border (although there have been such attempts). Sudden removal of the joint military and police checkpoint at Sutorina on Tuesday night is put in the same context. All things considered, the army was discontented by the presence of Montenegrin police which prevented it in carrying out its planned activities.

Instead of any explanation of Montenegrin civilian or army authorities which would confirm or deny these rumours, NATO was the one to react. Since Wednesday noon, aiplanes of the Alliance are flying over Podgorica. More than fifty missiles fell on military targets in Podgorica, Danilovgrad and Bar in three attacks - which is much more than in all 35 previous days of the air strikes against Serbia and Montenegro. This alone speaks in itself.

Zoran RADULOVIC

(AIM)