All the Milosevic Visits

Drivers were driving between the crews or waiting in long lines to get by when a long column of cars appeared to everyone's surprise, because no one knew anything about the visit; and that is customary when Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic visits Montenegro.

Just minutes after Milosevic landed, a state official confirmed the visit and said there won't be any opportunity for the press to meet him. "This visit was organized by the army," the official said. "It's a coincidence that Milosevic is in Montenegro while they're doing that thing in parliament. He came here to see the war games along with the other members of the military council and that is customary. I can divulge no other details."

FRY President Zoran Lilic came with Milosevic as well as Yugoslav Army (VJ) chief of staff General Momcilo Perisic.

Montenegro has seen several Milosevic visits. One was while he was still president of the Serbian Central Committee and visited an aluminum plant to talk about political activities. His second visit was described by Branko Vojcic and Veseljko Koprivica in their book "The Coup of 89". Milosevic was in Vilusi near Niksic incognito just prior to the October rally in Podgorica. He was a guest in the house of Slobodan Vucetic's parents. Other guests included Blazo Zlopasa, a local official in Niksic, and Radoslav Bulajic, general director of the Niksic steel plant, who promised to take his workers out on the streets.

The rallies in Montenegro happened , the "anti-bureaucracy revolution" happened and Montenegrins kept calling for Milosevic to come to the republic. A new set of authorities was in place and still Milosevic didn't come, i.e. we didn't know if he was there except for the time when he was in Cetinje to meet with the presidents of the other Yugoslav republics. He met with boos instead of cheers on the streets of Cetinje.

After the disobedience displayed by Montenegrin President Momir Bulatovic in the Hague and speculation on what and how Montenegro will do with the Belgrade initiative to create the FRY, Milosevic suddenly arrived in Podgorica. His convoy raced through the city and only reporters with the best sources managed to get to the villa. That February 12 (1992) Milosevic came with Borisav Jovic and Radoman Bozovic and was met by Bulatovic and Branko Kostic. The room they brought MIlosevic into was decorated with flowers and several microphones but Milosevic took Bulatovic aside and ordered him to remove the microphones and the meeting was closed to the public.

The outcome of that meeting was a referendum on whether Montenegro wanted to join Serbia in a single state.

"Purely by accident" Milosevic suddenly came to Montenegro this May 15 while Belgrade and Podgorica are ironing out their disagreements and pressure was being exerted on the Montenegrin ruling party to let Avramovic go.

Up to the start of the federal parliament session, Bulatovic and Milo Djukanovic swore they supported Avramovic as did the Montenegrin members of the NBJ council. A day before the session the DPS executive board met behind closed doors and we know the outcome.