Solana’s ‘bulldozing’ of Montenegro ‘plays into the hands of extremists’

Date: 21/02/02

By David Cronin

EU FOREIGN policy chief Javier Solana is 'trying to bulldoze' Montenegro in a 'direction that would be economically and politically unwise' by warning it to drop its desire for independence from Serbia, a group of politicians and scholars claims.

Although Solana recently made a plea to avoid 'further fragmentation' in the Balkans, the group said it was 'alarmed at the undoubted fact that EU pressure for a federal solution [to frictions between Serbia and Montenegro] is playing into the hands' of extremists in both Belgrade and Podgorica.

Thirteen prominent commentators on international affairs have signed an open letter to Solana protesting against his remarks. They include former Italian MEP and former Commissioner Emma Bonino, head of the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) Michael Emerson and five ex-ministers: Gareth Evans (Australia), Des O'Malley (Ireland), Pär Stenbäck (Finland) and Ed van Thijn (the Netherlands).

Rather than insisting that the two states remain united, the group argues that Montenegrins should be allowed to vote in a referendum on their country's future status.

Serbia and Montenegro are the only two federal territories left after the six-member federation of the former Yugoslavia disintegrated violently during the 1990s. The letter also states that Montenegro is moving faster towards the EU than Serbia because it applies lower tariffs and has adopted the euro. 'It should not be forced back onto the Yugoslav dinar, a currency with a very bad track record,' it said.

However, the Union's High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovenia this week said he backed Solana.

Wolfgang Petritsch said it is in 'the own interest' of the countries and provinces in the Balkans to cooperate closely. Further fragmentation in the Balkans runs counter to the trend in the rest of Europe.

'There they are talking about integration but in the Balkans there is too much talk about disintegration and finding solutions along ethnic lines.

'That is the wrong concept. Even if you are a sovereign state in the region, you cannot afford to isolate yourself.'

Due to step down in May, Petritsch said he was frustrated that Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, who are the suspected ringleaders of the campaign of genocide against Bosnian Muslims in the 1990s, remain at large.

The case for apprehending them is compelling, he added, especially since ex-Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic is appearing before the Hague tribunal on war crimes in the former Yugoslavia.

He also acknowledged that about 600,000 of the three million Bosnians who fled their homes during its conflict may never return to the country.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana is 'trying to bulldoze' Montenegro in a 'direction that would be economically and politically unwise' by warning it to drop its desire for independence from Serbia, a group of politicians and scholars claims.