Word: yugoslavs
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Trouble began in July, when Milosevic downgraded Montenegro's status in the Yugoslav federation. It was a move of unmasked aggression, a kind of diplomatic dare that caused outrage. It was backed with muscle: over the summer the Yugoslav army reasserted its authority in border areas at the expense of the local police. A Western diplomat called Milosevic "a python, slowly tightening his grip." Later this month, sources tell TIME, the Yugoslav army has scheduled training exercises in Montenegro to coincide with the elections. "[Milosevic] is going to set the stage for action," says General Wesley Clark, former NATO Supreme...
...parallels with Milosevic's earlier wars are unsettling. An estimated 15,000 heavily armed Yugoslav troops are already stationed in the republic. That includes a battalion of elite, well-paid soldiers selected for their loyalty to Milosevic. As in Slovenia and Croatia a decade ago, the Montenegrin government is training and arming an equal number of police to counter the army's threat. In regions such as the northern town of Kolasin, 19 miles from the Serbian border, the two armed sides are taking each other's measure. "If there is a war, we will have no other choice...
...dragged into yet another messy Balkan civil war. Milosevic on Thursday stunned his opponents by pushing constitutional changes through parliament that not only allow him to seek a fourth term of office but also diminish the already limited powers of Montenegro's government in the Yugoslav federation...
...changes. But that sets the scene for a showdown in the fall, when federal elections are due. Participating in the election means Montenegro's acceptance of the principle of rule from Belgrade, and even the idea doing the rounds in NATO circles of Djukanovic himself challenging Milosevic for the Yugoslav presidency is likely to be a non-starter - Belgrade's mooted anti-terrorism law would make the Montenegrin leader liable for arrest if he tried to campaign in Serbia. But rejecting the constitutional changes and pressing on toward independence, as many of his supporters want Djukanovic to do, would demand...
...first thing an American would think of, of course, is how to finagle this system. Maybe you would move to a part of Switzerland that is soft on Montenegrins. If you had one of those Yugoslav names with a paucity of vowels, you might sprinkle in a few, and list your hobbies as boccie playing and fine-tuning your grandma's lasagna recipe. Or maybe, in order to reassure voters that you're harmless because culturally you're already Swiss, you could list your hobbies as eating heavy food, reminding others to be punctual and responding to attempts at humor...