A Ditch For A Dike

Following the surrender of Prevlaka in late 1992, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said, allegedly, that the island of Mamula in the vicinity ``remained ours after 17 rounds of drinks.'' In the meantime God knows how many times 17 rounds of drinks have been imbibed, but the so called negotiations on territorial demarcation have just started to flare-up. A woman was torched the other day, a boy butchered, but so what! If I let you have my ditch, then you owe me two dikes!

Owen and Stoltenberg's latest report mentions an outlet to the sea under item ``b.'' It then goes on to say that a special agreement should be concluded between the Croatian and Moslem sides concerning an outlet to the sea for the Moslem republic, passing through ``the republic with a Croat majority via the monitored highway from Poplata to Neum, and that the republic with the Moslem majority should get some territory on the Adriatic coast, either around Neum or on the Isthmus of Klek...'' The agreement then says that ``the republic with the Serb majority could reach an agreement with the Republic of Croatia with regard to an exchange of territories in Eastern Herzegovina with the aim of setting up an outlet to the Adriatic.''

This Solomon-like formulation by international arbiters of compromise, is being interpreted in the field, in a typical Balkan manner. The half forgotten Prevlaka is once again at the center of attention, with the obligatory history lesson: (``during the 170 years of Tsar Dushan's empire in the 14th century, Boka was the main Serbian port''). Not so long ago, Prevlaka was the bone of contention between individuals such Serbian Radical Party (SRS) leader Vojislav Seselj and Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) top official Borisav Jovic; there were threats and a waving about of secret minutes on talks between Jovic and Montenegrin President Momir Bulatovic. These days political prominence is being given to the question if the maps being drawn in Igalo will definitely put this territory (called according to circumstance ``karst'' or a ``territory without which Yugoslavia cannot be called a sovereign country) within someone's borders.''

Momir Bulatovic said that Prevlaka ``was absolutely not a controversial question,'' or rather, that it would fall to Montenegro's share, i.e., the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. This would be solved by having the Serb Republic in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Republic of Croatia exchange territories, and then an agreement would be signed between the Serb Republic in B-H and Montenegro and Yugoslavia for it to be taken by Montenegro. Unless, of course, they don't reach an agreement, but such a possibility is not being mentioned for the time being.

According to talk from Trebinje, the capital presided over by the legendary Bozidar Vucurevic, Prevlaka is not controversial, but it is not enough, so that it would be a good idea to expand to Cavtat. This would naturally mean that Cilipi Airport (Dubrovnik) would have to be relocated because the narrow terrain will not allow planes to land and take off ``without violating the air space of the neighboring country.'' We can expect to hear about the relocating of road pubs, because of the danger that drunken guests could stagger into the territory of another state and provoke a border incident. It must not be forgotten that the Croatian authorities also have something to say on the topic of Prevlaka and its surroundings. Announcements of a foreign policy debate in the Sabor (Croatia's parliament), during which the deputies will study Owen's and Stoltenberg's maps, and problems concerning Croatia's border with Montenegro are being mentioned, especially those concerning Prevlaka. A special session of the Sabor called for the re-integration of parts of Croatia into its constitutional-legal and economic system. Negotiations, as a peaceful way of reaching this goal are being mentioned, but ``caution'' is urged with the Serbian side, which obviously is not giving up the idea of a Greater Serbia, say the papers. This is no obstacle when it comes to the partitioning of Bosnia, where the Serbs have countless verbal statements of support from their Croat brethren, and can create a Greater, in fact a gigantic Serbia. This however, is out of the question when talking of Croatia. That this hypocrisy should not be so obvious, the Sabor condemned ``Moslem and Serb aggression against the Croat population in B-H.''

Along with this, the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) and the Republic of Croatia national security claim that the Moslems' demand for an outlet to the sea in ``Croatia's region'' is unfounded and unacceptable, and that it is ``contrary to the basic conditions for the existence of the Union of the Republic of B-H.'' Of course, the creation of the Croat Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia is not in contradiction to the Union. On the other hand, the Moslems insist on an outlet, because that is something everybody needs, and why should the Serbs get it if they can't, while the fact that Neum is an ethnically Croat town, doesn't matter. Neum is also being mentioned by Bozidar Vucurevic. Explaining that the Serbs have an agreement with the Croats on the ceding of a part of Trebinje territory in Dubrovnik's hinterland as an outlet to the sea for the Serb Republic in B-H, Vucurevic claims that Neum is the outlet, or perhaps, territory along the Yugoslav border towards Prevlaka and imagines a new border which would take a ``funnel'' route towards Popovici.

Haggling in eastern bazaars can be regarded as a modern form of civilized trading compared to these border negotiations, but even such inter-ethnic wrangling is nothing compared to announcements of internal Serbian clashes over territory. Member of the war presidency in Kupres and member of the SRS municipal committee Dusan Maric said that the day an agreement was signed ceding Kupres, the jurisdiction of the treacherous Serb Republic in B-H over this territory would cease to exist. Serb Republic in B-H soldiers are called on to disobey any order Karadzic might make with regard to withdrawing from the Kupres highland. A Serb Republic in B-H soldier said that after 16 months of fighting and countless victims, they were being asked to remain in Croatia. He added that Karadzic had sold them out, while Milosevic and Bulatovic who ``weren't at war'' were gambling with the people, and concluded by saying that the ``war had just started.''

Experts on international relations cannot find a similar example of haggling over territory at a time when the war should be coming to an end. They mention Russia and Ukraine which are resolving their territorial conflicts in a different way, conflicts which are not small or unimportant. A possible explanation being given is that both sides are terrified of one another's nuclear arsenals. Is there anyone here who would dare imagine how our leaders would behave if they had nuclear arms at their disposal?

Finally, all celestial, historical, epoch-making, just and dignified goals have been brought down to their market-bargaining level, which is in concord with the profiles and achievements of those political hagglers who started it all.

Viewed from the Serbian angle, Serbian Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic and those who like him can repeat a thousand times that the ``goal of the Serbian nation is to preserve itself on its historical hearths.'' Even the most bellicose keepers of the hearths (with the exception of those in office) know that all that has remained of the hearths are ashes, and that the remaining owners of the ashes will be kicked away somewhere and forgotten, in order that their ashes might be exchanged for other ashes which look more inviting to those making the decisions.

But, they will not leave the people without solace. While they stash away their looted money in Swiss banks or elsewhere, they will tell the people that the greatness of the goal is measured once again by the number of the victims, and that the suffering had to be borne and still will be, by some people out there.