Montenegro: Serbs demand recount
The pro-Serb camp in Montenegro has demanded a recount of the referendum results which resulted in a slim margin in favour of secession from Serbia in favour of a separate nation.
“The preliminary results of the referendum process should be double checked, and ballots from all the polling stations should be recounted,” according to a statement yesterday signed by four main leaders of the unionist bloc.
The state referendum commission said that near-complete results showed 55.4% of voters voted in favour of Montenegro’s independence on Sunday. That is just over the 55% threshold needed to validate the referendum under rules set by the European Union.
The EU-appointed head of the commission, Frantisek Lipka, has said the tally was based on near-complete results that are unlikely to change much in the final count. He said that complete results would be announced today morning.
Meanwhile, there were no fireworks or celebrations yesterday in Serbia as it too – by default – also became independent following Montenegro’s decision.
Analysts have warned the split could spell trouble for the already beleaguered Serbian prime minister, Vojislav Kostunica. Others welcomed the prospect of a fresh start. The foreign minister went as far as calling for the monarchy to be restored.
Serbia, with an eight-million-strong population, will now become a landlocked state. With no sea left to guard, a reform of the army and navy seems inevitable. Montenegro may have a population of just 620,000 people, but the impact of the divide will pose many strategic challenges.
The foreign and defence ministries – and the army – were all run by the union, and will now need to be overhauled.
Kostunica, though, is perhaps facing the most pressure, having openly backed the Serbia-Montenegro union. He invoked the deep historical ties the people have in common, as well as their common language and religion.
“Kostunica unreservedly backed the bloc that lost, and now his idea of preserving the union is history,” said Dragoljub Zarkovic, political editor of the Vreme weekly. ”Shake-ups in the government are unavoidable.”
Serbia’s Constitutional Court chief judge Slobodan Vucetic said that the country may declare its own independence in parliament within days of Montenegro.
Serbia’s foreign minister, Vuk Draskovic, said the country should start by restoring the monarchy. King Peter II fled in 1941 following the Nazi invasion.
“A constitutional parliamentary monarchy would be a sound foundation for Serbia to build on,” said Draskovic, whose party – the Serbian Renewal Party - has long called for such a change.
Draskovic, who said Serbia now has the prospect of a “new beginning”, called for calm.
“If the majority in Montenegro decided on independence then this is something Serbia should accept,” Draskovic told the private B92 Television in Belgrade. “This is a historic moment not only for Montenegro, but for Serbia as well.”
Serbia must deal with burning issues weighing heavily on its political and economic future.
The country’s failure to deliver war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic has put major strains on ties with the European Union, which it one day hopes to join. Kosovo’s future is also hanging in the balance, with UN-sponsored negotiations currently in full swing. Serbia refuses to give up Kosovo, considering it the cradle of its medieval statehood and culture.
Under a constitutional deal brokered by the EU in 2002 to pre-empt new Balkan unrest amid Montenegro’s surging independence drive, Serbia automatically inherits the union seats held by Serbia-Montenegro in international organisations.
Dusan Petrovic, a spokesman from President Boris Tadic’s Democratic Party, said it was time for “Serbia to focus on Serbia”.
“We became independent through a vote in Montenegro. Now we must clean up our own house,” Petrovic said.
