Montenegro vs. Serbia
Does Bulatovic Have His Para-Military Units?
Has a party army, in uniforms of the federal police, been created in Montenegro?
AIM Podgorica, 24 November, 1999
The declaration of the former head of the Army of Yugoslavia, general Momcilo Perisic, on a paramilitary batallion formed for the purpose of "disciplining" Montenegro has just confirmed the assumptions that Milosevic's manoeuvre is now being repeated against Montenegro.
General Perisic, president of the Movement for Democratic Serbia, claims in Blic daily that use of the army for the purpose of preventing Montenegro to leave the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia would be "utterly illegal". And he is certain, he says, that it actually "cannot be used".
But Perisic reveals something even more dangerous: "Under the influence of Montenegrins in the federal government, paramilitary units have been formed within the Army of Yugoslavia", claims general Perisic. "A batallion of military police has been established which is founded on ideological bases of Momir Bulatovic's party and which is supposed to be the fuse in the conflict with the MUP (Ministry of the interior) of Montenegro. The paradox lies in the fact that the Montenegrins from the federal government are the greatest advocates of throwing Montenegro out of FRY", said general Perisic.
Asked to comment for the official Pobjeda daily the declaration of former head of the General Staff of the Army of Yugoslavia general Perisic on formation of the paramilitary batallion, Novak Kilibarda, deputy prime minister of the Republic of Montenegro, said as follows: "Forces responsible for safety of the state and people in Montenegro are well organised and considerable in size and they will have the power and skill to protect both the state and the people in Montenegro from paramilitary legions which shed blood and crime on all territories they took hold of".
To the question what could be done when paramilitary units were here Kilibarda judged that an equation mark should not be be put between these units and the Army of Yugoslavia. "One must have confidence especially in the junior officers and the brethren from Serbia that they will neither willingly nor readily shoot at Montenegrins". "And an eye should be kept on paramilitary units, or rather, the citizens readiness not to slip into the civil war is the main preventive measure", Kilibarda concluded.
It would be good if Kilibarda's optimism had foundation. In Sarajevo they had also once believed that there was no chance the people could wage war against other, however... Montenegrin authorities will indeed be faced with a big challenge if Milosevic decides to test his favourite recipe once again. In its comment on the "instructions" arriving every day to Montenegrin authorities from the West concerning the "problem of Montenegro", this is how Montenegrin independent weekly Monitor looks upon the whole issue: "It is necessary to avoid Milosevic and incidents with the army of Yugoslavia, to avoid the danger of paramilitary units which general Perisic is talking about, to avoid awakening of new nationalistic movements, to avoid foreign intervention, to avoid divisions inside the Republic... Obviously: such perils demand from a politician in the Balkans to be a magician".
Almost at the same time when the statement of general Perisic appeared, Momir Bulatovic, federal prime minister and president of the Socialist People's Party (SNP), at a conference organised by his party in Mojkovac, wondered: "What has happened to sovereignty of Montenegro in which more than 2500 policemen are not its citizens. A certain number of them are from the Republic of Srpska, and unfortunately an even larger number of them are from the Muslim and the Croat federation. What has happened to its sovereignty when the police is getting and purchasing arms from Ljubuski and Zenica?"
Quite logically, one who is establishing paramilitary units as Momir Bulatovic is doing, which should be used as a fuse in the conflict with MUP of Montenegro, cannot publicly praise Montenegrin police. A short time ago, head of Montenegrin police Vukasin Maras was accused of having allegedly engaged several hundred members of Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). When it was impossible to prove it, this story was soon given up.
Nowadays there is the new version. Momir Bulatovic "responsibly" claims that Montenegrin minister of police got reinforcement from elsewhere - that there are thousands of policemen from the Republic of Srpska and B&H Federation in Montenegro. This will be denied like so many previous "truths" stated by former Montenegrin president.
And how many combatants tested in battle of the recent Balkan wars are there really in the ranks of the newly formed batalion for discipling Montenegro? Bulatovic fails to reveal that. He even less wishes to talk about the origin of members of Milosevic's special units which are in charge of scattering protesters and spreading fear around Serbia. And nothing to say about all those paramilitary legions which shed blood and crime - from Croatia to Kosovo: Arkan's, Frenki's, Bokan's, Seselj's...
It is even more ironic that Momir Bulatovic should be the person concerned about "cleanliness" of Montenegrin MUP. He who declared from the platform at the central city square in Podgorica during NATO bombing that "Montenegro does not need ten times more policemen than we had when we started the war against Croatia" and that "Montenegrin police shall be put under command of the Army of Yugoslavia or disappear".
Vuk Draskovic, at the time deputy prime minister in the federal government, claimed that Bulatovic had tried to achieve this, regardless of the cost. And had he not been prevented, he would have caused civil war.
Then a statement was issued from Belgrade that Draskovic was lying. It turned out, however, that there was certain foundation in what he was saying. Miodrag Kovac, federal minister of health, confided in the Istok journal. He said that he was dumb-founded when he learnt that only Draskovic's intervention had prevented "seizure of the building of Radio-Television Montenegro" and "bloodshed". In his denial of Draskovic's statement, Kovac in fact unwillingly confirmed it: "I was present at the session when we spoke about the decree of putting telecommunications in the service of defence. Even Serb Revival Movement voted in favour of this decree and pursuant it RTV Montenegro would have been shut down because they worked against their own country!" Kovac only failed to say how that would be possible to do except by intervention of the Army of Yugoslavia. And that would mean: war in Montenegro and bloodshed!
Momir and Pavle Bulatovic, former president of Montenegro and federal minister of the police at the time, watched in silence while Slobodan Milosevic seized by mediation of the Ministry of the interior of Serbia the federal ministry of internal affairs: its buildings, personnel, documentation... Now they have suddenly decided to establish their own police all over again. They are, of course, worried by Montenegrin Ministry of the interior which has become a serious obstacle for their intention to reduce Montenegro to obedience because it has set out on the road of reforms and cooperation with the world. And they have even started with signing of certain oaths of allegiance organised by Bulatovic's Socialist People's Party which is already called the fifth column in Montenegro. They are playing with petrol and fire again. What good would it do to anyone?
Branko VOJICIC
(AIM)
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