If Montenegro Goes, Kosovo Will Not be Part of Yugoslavia Any More, Premier SaysMar 19, 2001 -- (BBC Monitoring) Text of report by Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA.
Podgorica, 18 March: Yugoslav Prime Minister Zoran Zizic has said in Podgorica that in case of secession of Montenegro, "Kosovo would not be an integral part of Yugoslavia either".
"In case Montenegro secedes, according to Dayton Agreement, Kosovo is not an integral part of Yugoslavia anymore. It leads to destabilization of the region and leaves a mark on anyone who takes responsibility for Kosovo leaving the country for good," Zizic said.
Speaking at a Socialist People's Party's [SNP] round table, whose deputy chairman he is, Zizic said that the latest clashes of Albanian terrorists with the Macedonian forces in Tetovo area were the best example that all this was done with the aim of creating "Greater Albania".
Zizic said that the events in the Tetovo area were encouraged by certain political forces from Kosovo and forces in Montenegro at the moment, "which are trying to discredit, destabilize and destroy the joint state, Yugoslavia".
"Compared to previous situations, the advantage is that today Yugoslavia enjoys the support of the international community," the federal prime minister said.
Speaking about deployment of the Yugoslav Army in the Ground Safety Zone towards the Macedonian border, Zizic said that the deployment was just a first specific step of the international community towards driving terrorists out of the Ground Safety Zone, but that it had much bigger significance.
"That political significance is reflected in the fact that, after 18 months of deployment in Kosovo-Metohija, UN units and the international community realized that the problem of this region is hard to solve," he added.
Zizic also said that UNMIK [UN Mission in Kosovo] and Kfor [Kosovo Force] "have not managed to make a single serious move" in Kosovo in these 18 months.Source: SRNA news agency, Bijeljina, in Serbo-Croat 0957 GMT 18 Mar 01
(C) 2001 BBC Monitoring
senden