Milosevic as a Shield

Even before the protests in Podgorica began, we spoke with Predrag Bulatovic, Vice-President of Momir Bulatovic's political faction, and according to many, one of the most capable individuals in that company

VREME: Why are you organising potentially dangerous demonstrations in front of the Parliament of Montenegro?

PREDRAG BULATOVIC: Because through dialogue we were unable to reach a compromise with the opposing party. We exhausted all possible options in negotiations, both in the session of parliament last fall in Cetinje, as well as all through December. Our gole is to create a democratic atmosphere in which the crisis will be resolved as quickly as possible, mainly through early parliamentary electiony.

An agreement about the holding of parliamentary elections in May has already been signed.

That is refined manipulation. Until a decision is reached about shortening the Parliamentary mandate and about setting parliamentary elections -- they will not be held. The issue does not at all concern when they will be held, but who will participate in their preparation. That is why it is very important for the temporary government (whose mandates will be named by Milo Djukanovic once he assumes the position of President of Montenegro, e.g. R.N.) not to include people who participated in the theft of the presidential elecitons. We can ask for the Minister of Police not to be re-appointed to the Government, then the Ministers of Finance, Justice and Information. The problem lies in the Law on Voters' Lists which was adopted by Parliament and which made possible phenomenal rigging.

If you stand behind compromise, why have your Party's MP's abandoned the Parliament of Montenegro, a place designed for holding political dialogue?

Because of blatant separatism. When Parliament reaches a decision not to respect Federal Court resolutions, then you will no longer need a federal parliament or a federal government which, according to the Constitution, sets foreign and domestic policy -- even though federal government did not mean much all these years under Milo, Momir and Slobo.

The gist of the matter is that the resolution about not accepting federal institutions must be suspended (the Resolution on Threats to the Legal System of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, e.g. R.N.), and that until new Parliament is formed, all announced actions on changing the Constitution of Montenegro must stop in regard to their encompassing of the state system.

Why should Parliament cancel legally instituted acts?

The protest will determine everything. If enough people come out, it will become apparent that the actual situation is different, that the will of the people demands a different atmosphere from the one created in Parliament. Then those parliamentary acts will have to be cancelled.

Is it your gole to prevent Milo Djuknovic from becoming President of Montenegro?

We do not acknowlege him as president of the Republic, and that is our right. However, we will not stand in the way of his inauguration. Let that ceremony at court take place in Cetinje, let it take place with much glamour, but he will have to return form Cetinje, to pass by hundreds of thousands of people, to say "I am President", and to take the seat of President. Let us witenss that.

We are on the right path with the Federal Court which had alreday cancelled hundred of sentences -- of the total 14 thousand -- by the Supreme Court of Montenegro on the establishement of voters' lists. The work of the Federal Court could continue for another several months, half a year or a full year, and it is still a question whether the issue of the presidency will be resolved by then, but we do not wish to fight on this point.

How do you assess the real power of your political faction?

Were fair and honest elections to be held today, we would individually be the strongest party. I cannot claim that we would have a majority in parliament, but we would certainly approach.

Much depends on what alliences will be forged. Milo Djuknovic's faction is presently working on destroying the Liberal Federation through blackmail, police force, all with the gole of winning over that strong political party as its coalitional partner. Were the Liberals to come out independently in the election, there is considerable possibility that we might get a majority through mere mathematics. Were they to join Djukanovic, we will be forced to consider the creation of a pre-election Yugoslav faction with Bozidar Bojovic's People's Party. It could happen that parliamentary elections present an expression of the attitude toward a joint state, that is to say, a faction for an upright, dignified, et cetera, Montenegro which would include Muslims, Albanians, Milo Djukanovic and the Liberal Federation -- thus two factions, one hiding beneath the name of a fight against Slobodan Milosevic, and the other, our Yugoslav block.

Do you think that the first mentioned faction is not really fighting against the regime of Slobodan Milosevic?

I do not think they are. Milo Djukanovic says that he is against Milosevic because he cannot say that he is against Yugoslavia. And all these years he cooperated very well with that selfsame regime. Otherwise, if we want to draw comparisons, Djukanovic is developing exceptionally a system of personal power, and the regime which he is building here -- if he succeeds in bulding it -- is a classic, undemocratic, police regime which would be envied by many autocrats.

Should such an assessment indicate similarities between Djukanovic and Milosevic?

No. I want to say that during the student protests in Belgrade last winter, Djukanovic suddenly began to turn his back on Slobodan, not because of local elections, but because of the fact that many people were out in the streets and that Slobodan was likely to fall. We came in with Slobodan, and I do not wish to fall with him -- I heard him say that at least five times.

In the preparations for this protest, did you hold talks with the Socialist Party of Seriba as your coalition partner?

Officially we did not hold any talks.