Monday April 23 12:08 PM ET
Montenegro Urged to Think Again on Independence

By Andrew Gray

PODGORICA, Yugoslavia (Reuters) - Montenegro's ruling coalition narrowly won Sunday's parliamentary election but its slender majority brought an immediate chorus of voices calling for it to rethink plans for independence.

Independent projections on Monday gave President Milo Djukanovic's alliance, which aims to end Montenegro's partnership with much larger Serbia in the Yugoslav federation, just two seats more than its main rivals and failing to get an overall majority.

``There is no clear mandate for or against anything, but a very clear split,'' Ambassador Gerard Stoudmann of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said.

``This should be a clear message both here for those in a hurry for a referendum on independence but also in Belgrade that there is a need for a serious discussion in good faith to resolve the outstanding issues between Montenegro and Serbia,'' he told a news conference in Montenegro's main city Podgorica.

``I think it (the election outcome) is good, that this is a kind of sobering up,'' Yugoslav Interior Minister Zoran Zivkovic, a key figure in Serbia's ruling DOS coalition, told independent radio B92 in Belgrade.

``I think now there are more chances to preserve the federal state,'' added Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus, attending the annual meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London.

No Unilateral Action, Begs Eu

And in Brussels, the European Commission urged Montenegro to begin talks swiftly with Belgrade aimed at preserving the federation.

``The European Union's message has been very clear and consistent -- refrain from any unilateral action. That remains our message,'' said spokesman Gunnar Wiegand.

``The commission hopes the new government will start talks with Belgrade as quickly as possible so they can redefine their relations,'' he said.

But the commission, the EU's executive arm, added that the 15-nation bloc would respect any democratic decisions agreed by Montenegro and Serbia, the only republics left in Yugoslavia.

The OSCE said voting was carried out ``generally in line with international commitments for democratic elections,'' though it cited some shortcomings that needed to be corrected to ensure confidence in elections in an area with a long history of corrupt and strong-arm tactics in pursuit of power.

Montenegro, with only 650,000 people by far the junior partner, distanced itself from Serbia during the autocratic rule of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, and threats from Belgrade only increased support for Djukanovic's separatist ambitions.

But last October's fall of Milosevic appears to have reduced support for independence, and the opposition pro-Yugoslav bloc said its strong showing, not predicted publicly by opinion pollsters or the Djukanovic camp -- showed the president did not have the mandate to press ahead with the final breakup of Yugoslavia.

Its supporters celebrated until the early hours of Monday, driving around rain-soaked streets of Podgorica honking horns, waving Yugoslav flags and giving three-fingered Serb salutes as sporadic celebratory gunfire rang out.

President Still Aims For Independence

But Djukanovic made clear he was still committed to the independence course and would seek an alliance with like-minded parties in the republic.

``We will start as soon as tomorrow on making the necessary arrangements to create a government committed to an independent, democratic and pro-European Montenegro,'' he told a large crowd of supporters chanting his name at a post-election party.

But the partner he needs to form a government, the Liberal Alliance, wants independence quickly and is against any attempts at retaining even a loose alliance with much bigger Serbia.

Western diplomats fear immediate independence moves could exacerbate tensions and encourage other Balkan breakaway moves.

``Belgrade and Podgorica are now called on to begin serious talks about their joint future immediately, with the goal of renewing relations based on democratic principles in accordance with the existing constitutional order and heeding regional stability,'' German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said in a statement.

``Unilateral steps would run contrary to this goal.''

With 98.84 percent of votes counted, the republic's electoral commission said Djukanovic's alliance had won 42.05 percent, narrowly ahead of the anti-independence bloc, which had 40.67 percent of ballots cast.

The difference between the two groups was just below 5,000 votes. Close to 450,000 people were eligible to vote and the commission said turnout reached 80.84 percent. The Liberal Alliance Party got 7.65 percent of votes.

A local monitoring agency earlier predicted that Djukanovic's alliance named ``Victory is Montenegro's'' would get 35 seats in the 77-seat parliament against 33 seats for the ''Together for Yugoslavia'' bloc.

``The referendum on independence is now an illusion. We can only now discuss how the future federation will be organized,'' said pro-Yugoslav leader Predrag Bulatovic.

Djukanovic's camp had argued Montenegro was already independent in all but name and that it would prosper more quickly with its own access to international financial institutions. They also recalled Montenegro's proud history as an independent state before 1918.

Pro-Yugoslav parties argued the republic was too small to survive economically on its own and stressed the close family, business and cultural ties between Serbia and Montenegro.

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