The Age of the Warriors

If the option for a sovereign and independent republic wins in Montenegro, our "young knights" will immediately erect border points at the Ostrog monastery at Brajici, above Budva, and at Bioca, around ten kilometers above Podgorica.

"Not a single supporter of a sovereign Montenegro will step across that border" - this is the message conveyed at the end of the presentation of the presidential candidates by Zivojin Kiro Radovic and candidate of the Serbian National Renewal (SNO) for Montenegro and Herzegovina.

This is not the only message of this kind sent by the party, now part of the coalition of the democratic opposition, made up of the Serbian National Renewal for Montenegro and Herzegovina, the Serbian Radical Party (SRS), the Democratic Party, the Serbian Fatherland Movement and several other associations. A similar message was sent by one of the leaders of the coalition, neuropsychiatrist Milija Pavicevic, who underscored that in the event of a victory for Slavko Perovic (Liberals) or the parties that advocate a sovereign Montenegro, their parties would become militant. To put it simply, they will not be reconciled with election results which do not suit their political ideas because, as they say, that is the will of the Serbian people and therefore efforts should be invested in the creation of a federation of Serbian lands. Attempts at implement such threats - it is now quite clear - were carried out with the familiar raising of barricades with armed "unidentified persons" on Slijepac bridge near Bijelo Polje and in Mojkovac, thereby making it known that the Liberal Alliance, the party which spearheads activities aimed at establishing a sovereign and internationally recognized Montenegro, could not hold election campaign rallies in northern Montenegro.

The intentions of the "Serbian youth knights" have been noticeable for a long time on the basis of information which leaked out from the ranks of the security service about the arrival of 1,200 armed persons into the northern part of Montenegro. By publishing the names of those arrested in Bijelo Polje on founded suspicion that they participated in setting up the armed ambushes, the police made it known that one of them was from Sjenica and that they were equipped with bombs, automatic weapons and flack jackets. Claims by part of the opposition that the northern part of Montenegro is occupied and full of paramilitary formations were not taken seriously by the Montenegrin authorities, judging by public reactions, nor did they take any measures to enable equal representation of parties on the territory of Montenegro, which again resulted in the conclusion that they did not control the entire territory of Montenegro.

Such an atmosphere is being made increasingly inflammable by threats of an outbreak of war in the event of a victory for the Montenegrin block of parties. These have gone so far as having TV program host Dragoljub Pavicevic asking the Liberal leader Slavko Perovic whether Serbia would "permit the separation of Montenegro." This question, to which Perovic responded by saying he did not see a man in the General Staff of the Yugoslav Army who would issue orders for opening fire on Montenegro," is the tip of an iceberg in the systematic action of intimidating Montenegro with Serbia, in the event of "unfavourable" election results. A "favorable" result is being linked with the political option of the democratic opposition, above all because Nada Jovovic-Lazarevic (Secretary General of SNO) publicly announced that the "Liberal alliance does not present any threat, as it is known what they want, as much as there is a threat from the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) which intends to separate Montenegro from Serbia".

The wave of militants has all of a sudden strengthened by Branko Kostic's presidential candidacy. The paravan behind which this initiative arose has made even more see-through the invitation of the leadership of the Serbian Radical Party in Montenegro to its members to vote for Branko Kostic.

The race for the presidential post is extremely uncertain, above all because the votes of the DPS are expected to be divided not only between Kostic and Momir Bulatovic, but also because it is quite certain that a good part, according to some estimates around 30%, of the votes will go to other candidates. Bulatovic's assurances that Kostic cannot count either on the votes or on the people of the DPS remain unconvincing.

On the other side is the completely calm liberal Slavko Perovic, who is aware of the fact that their quarrel is mustering in votes for him, as are his more than good and confident appearances on radio and television through which he has succeeded in winning the sympathies of numerous political opponents and in disarming those who persistently claimed that he spearheaded hatred towards Serbs and Serbia.

How the 460,680 votes, the number of the Montenegrin electorate, will be divided is getting hard to predict. There are a total of 952 parliamentary candidates competing for those votes, and in the new parliament there will be room for only 85 of them.

According to public opinion polls conducted in the past few months DPS had best chances, but as time went by, hopes in a repeat of the winning of an absolute majority melted. With increasingly pronounced economic despair and increasingly see-through claims that what is involved is a party of centre on the boiling Montenegrin political scene, with claims that the party concerned was a genuine party of peace for the preservation of the continuity of Yugoslavia, bait has clumsily been set for at least those sympathisers of the DPS who have so far always justifiably been counted on. Bulatovic revealed that the DPS has around 40,000 members, but it is more than clear that those who can most be counted on are members employed in state-owned bodies, whose will has been fortified by the sowing of fear that a change in the regime would result in a loss of their jobs. Besides this, the ruling team remains silent on criticism about the quality of the common state. In comparison to the president of Serbia, the Montenegrin president has no power.

Closely linked with the liberals is the Social Democratic Party of Reformists, which entered a coalition with the independent communists and the Party of National Equality, which rallies Moslems and Albanians, and the Socialist Party, the only one among them to also participate in the federal elections, but is not abandoning the option of a sovereign and independent Montenegro.

Uncertainty is also linked with the votes of the League of Communists - Movement for Yugoslavia and a series of other smaller parties from the block. In any event, it is difficult to forecast how Montenegro will look after December 20. The results of a recent secret public opinion poll conducted by the Belgrade agency "Partner" has increased panic in the ranks of the DPS. According to the poll, the DPS can allegedly count on a total of 40% of the seats in parliament. The Montenegrin block can count on as many, and its percentual participation will depend on the readiness of the Moslems to abide by the request of the leadership of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) that they boycott the elections. The general conviction is that the Moslems, and even the Albanians, will mostly vote for the Montenegrin block. Whether the possible course of events carries a threat of armed conflicts in Montenegro remains to be seen. For the moment, the opposition is unanimous in its wishes that the DPS win less than half the seats in parliament, which would be the beginning of their speedy disappearance from the Montenegrin political scene.

Instead of such mathematics, however, the public is being increasingly bombarded with threats that it is in a position to decide between war and peace, and that Montenegro, regardless of the will of the people, cannot decide anything outside the will of Serbia and military authorities, or the "Serbian knights", who are calling people into a fight for conquering and establishing the borders of Montenegro on the Neretva River and on the unification of all Serbs, while at the same time sticking to their claims that the Montenegrin nation is only one in a series of plots against Serbianism.