A Shot in the Back

A round of bullets fired on a van with Moslem workers from the Wood Industry Plant did not fulfill the wish of war mongers and spark off inter-ethnic conflicts in Montenegro. The fact that the incident took place on May 17 at midnight in the village of Zenica in the vicinity of Pljevlja, is a serious warning to the authorities, and especially the army, that the time has come for them to do their job.

Since last year the Montenegrin police have been repeating that the "investigation is underway", but they still haven't managed to arrest a single terrorist. Legendary Chetnik major and federal deputy Ceko Dacevic (of the Serbian Radical Party) has managed to wriggle out of the clutches of the law in spite of accusations that he is "responsible for the greatest number of these crimes". The citizens and parties in Niksic and Pljevlja reacted unanimously to the latest terrorist orgies. Even the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) in Pljevlja said: "In these difficult times party interests should be set aside and everything should be undertaken in order to preserve peace".

There were 15 Moslems from the second shift in the van. The attack took place in the same spot where Adem Cengic, a prominent citizen, was shot while riding a bicycle fifty years ago. Pedantic chroniclers of events in Pljevlja have noticed that there is a method in the attacks on Moslems and their property, and that places and anniversaries of former Moslem tragedies are being chosen. That evening, the van had been "ethnically pure", and all the Moslems originated from the village of Odzaci, the same village from which Dacevic originates. Usually two men of the Orthodox faith travelled in the van, but they weren't there that evening. No one knows why not. The fact remains that all the workers of the Wood Industry Plant, regardless of their nationality were disgusted. The town was indignant, as well as all of Montenegro. It has become clear now that war can flare up in the republic, and that no one is safe anymore.

The old inhabitants of Niksic are especially bitter over the incident, all the more so, as the two mosques in the town were never a thorn in the eye to anyone during the past wars. Over a few days, terrorists fired at five Moslem houses and inexpertly planted explosives under the minaret. The minaret was not much damaged, but all the windows of the nearby Health Center, some ten meters away, were shattered. Luckily there were no casualties, and good inter-ethnic relations have not suffered because the citizens and the authorities reacted swiftly - they called a meeting with Moslem representatives and those of the Islamic religious community.

During a similar meeting in Pljevlja, the implementation of energetic measures was demanded against such evils. A dentist's surgery was blown up only because a Moslem worked there. Serbs and Montenegrins have long cautioned the head of Hussein Pasha's Mosque in Pljevlja that "proven fighters for the Serbian cause" have been meeting in cafes, and that there was talk of blowing up one of the most beautiful and most valuable monuments in the Balkans. Telephone threats had been made recently. Fear has been sown in Montenegro: on two occasions teachers emptied schools in Niksic and Budva following anonymous bomb scares. Nothing happened, but no one believes that they will all be false ones.

Montenegrin Interior Minister Bogdan Drobnjak received a letter from Pljevlja, demanding that the police finally start doing their job, and that the army confiscate weapons from reservists, given out during mobilization.

In a letter to Montenegrin President Momir Bulatovic, an inhabitant of Pljevlja says: "I am sick of the unrestrained authorities and armed gangs. Please stop tormenting us, and set us on fire as soon as possible!"