Montenegro 'chooses independence'

DuH2 · #1 (**permalink**) 05-21-2006, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Montenegro has voted for independence from its union with Serbia, according to unofficial projections.
If confirmed, the vote would erase the last vestige of the former Yugoslavia.

Initial indications are that 56.3% of voters elected to secede from Serbia. The pro-independence bloc needs to win 55% of the vote to succeed.

Polls opened early on Sunday morning and turnout was said to have surpassed a record 85%.

The independence camp is already out celebrating in Podgorica

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5003220.stm

JP5 · #2 (**permalink**) 05-21-2006, 02:55 PM

What a mess. And all we did by getting involved was to reverse the kind of ethnic cleansing that was going on! Thank you Bill Clinton for supporting the KLA and the Muslim extemists! We'll be regretting this one big time in the future.

bktx1 · #3 (**permalink**) 05-21-2006, 04:43 PM

This vote has nothing to do with Bill Clinton.

This is about a nation becoming free to run their own affairs. Montenegro has been a de facto state for some time. This just formalizes it.

We should have made the Europeans take care of their own house, but Yugoslavia could never have survived without Tito's iron hand.

Tedminator · #4 (**permalink**) 05-23-2006, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bktx1";p=&quot

What are you talking about?

This vote has nothing to do with Bill Clinton.

This is about a nation becoming free to run their own affairs. Montenegro has been a de facto state for some time. This just formalizes it.

We should have made the Europeans take care of their own house, but Yugoslavia could never have survived without Tito's iron hand.

It's the 'Blame America first" crowd... they'll continue to lay the blame on the USA as long as it profits their political agenda.

DuH2 · #5 (**permalink**) 05-24-2006, 03:20 AM

Cute Ted........

I don't know what exactyl JP5's complaints are about the US involvement in Bosnia/Kosovo but I'm sure its a tad more complex then the average far lefties thought process.

////////

Montenegro going its own way IMO is a much overdue rectification of a wrong commited...

http://www.montenegro.org/abolish.html

But past that JP5's concerns if I got some of them right are well founded Yugoslavias breakup has sewn the seeds for even more war. Especially in the Macedonia/Kosovo/Albania/Serbia/Greece/Bulgaria/Turkey area.

IOW another conflict similar to the First (1912) and Second (1913) Balkan War.

///

Anyway..whats next?

Quote:

What happens now?

Montenegro will now have to wait for reaction from the EU and Serbia. If these are positive, Montenegro's parliament will be convened to proclaim its independence.

According to their union's founding charter, Serbia will become the successor state, and Montenegro will need to apply for membership of the United Nations and other international institutions.

Serbia will also inherit the legal claim to UN-administered Kosovo whose future status is expected to be determined by the end of this year.

But Serbia will lose direct access to the Adriatic Sea - and granting special rights of access will give Montenegro a strong position in forthcoming talks on dividing the union's assets.

Meanwhile, Montenegro will have to wait for recognition by the EU before it can start its own preliminary talks with Brussels on eventual EU membership.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4994212.stm

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