Problems of the Montenegrin Dictator

The process of separation (between Montenegro and Serbia) moved into an active phase after the armed conflict in the Serbian provinces of Kosovo and Metohija. On August 5, 1999 the government of Montenegro announced a platform for new relations between Serbia and Montenegro, in order to review the status of Montenegro and electoral law. The Constitutional Court rejected this revision as being illegal. A little later, the question of Montenegrin independence was again raised – this time with the support of the European Union and the US politician Richard Holbrooke (the famous fighter against “Balkan Russians,” as the Serbs call themselves).

The result was: the signing of the basic documents of the final “separation”. Montenegro attained full independence on May 21, 2006. It did not matter that the referendum had many irregularities, which had been well documented – regardless, the EU and US recognized the results. The formal results of the referendum were as follows: 55.4% voted for independence and 44.6% voted against independence. It soon became apparent that the US paid off Milo Djukanovic to rig the referendum. The US then used its power and global influence to force other countries to recognize the results of this undemocratic referendum. The independence of Montenegro was a true “godsend” for the Djukanovic clan, which continuously ruled Montenegro since February 1991. Milo Djukanovic has always traded the interests of the Montegrin people in order to guarantee his own personal security.

And so, Milo Djukanovic is a classic godfather. According to Misha Glenny (one of the best known experts in the field of international crime), in the 1990s Montenegro became a hub of criminal enterprises worth billions of dollars, which created revenue everywhere – in America, the Middle East, Central Asia, the Magreb and Western Europe. Every week, several tons of illegal cigarettes are shipped by boat to the port of Bar, and from there the speedboats ship cigarettes to the Italian port city of Bari, where they are delivered into the hands of the Italian mafia…”(M.Glenny, Modern international mafia, Capital press release, 2008, page 59-60). In 2012, court proceedings were initiated against the “Reynolds” and “Philip Morris” companies in which they were accused of assisting in the smuggling of cigarettes. Among the various charges was this: the Balkan cigarette trade is linked to Colombian drug cartel money laundering. By 1994 the EU already knew that the tobacco mafia, with whom Djukanovic did business in Europe, was worth 6 to 8 billion dollars a year. Italian prosecutors quickly discovered the mafia role of Djukanovic and so they wanted to prosecute him.

However, secret dispatches had also come in from Washington stating that the American government wanted the Italian judiciary to suspend all charges against Djukanovic. The key to Milo Djukanovic’s nearly three-decade long dictatorship is Washington – indeed the US is the one that (with the help of the CIA) has secured the power of the last dictator in Europe. Such backing comes with a price which Djukanovic is only too happy to pay. When the US supported Albanian terrorists in Kosovo (in 1999) and the war broke out, Djukanovic took the side of the US instead of his own country. Djukanovic gladly obeyed the US when the latter wanted him to recognize the independent state of Kosovo – even though all the official polls have demonstrated that 85% of the population was against the recognition of Kosovo.

In accordance with US interests, Djukanovic`s main priority today is for Montenegro to join NATO. The fact that the majority of the Montenegrin people are against NATO does not worry Djukanovic at all. The Parliament of Montenegro adopted a resolution supporting NATO membership, where 50 out of 81 MPs voted in favor of joining. Djukanovic wanted 50 people to decide for 600,000 inhabitants. And then something happened which was a long time in the making – the Montenegrin people expressed their outrage in protests against the blatantly pro-US policies of Djukanovic. It occurred in an organized tent camp outside the parliament in Podgorica. The protests were peaceful. Nevertheless, Djukanovic does not tolerate anything that is not in accordance with his own will. He has always worked by mafia rules, and with Washington’s full support.

So, at 5:45 am, on October 17, a police SWAT team stormed into the camp where protesters had peacefully assembled and proceeded to brutally beat them. Special police units beat up and arrested many demonstrators, journalists, and opposition leaders. Then a new clash of protesters and police occurred on October 24. The egregious force that the Montenegrin authorities used has brought the country to the point of serious conflict. All of this highlights the absolute hypocrisy of Washington’s foreign policy. If there is a protest against a regime that does not like Washington, then that is called “democracy” and it is considered to be fully legal. But if a protest is against a regime that obeys Washington, then it is considered to be illegitimate and even a direct threat to the US itself.

However, a great change occurred during the recent Montegrin protests – this time Europe did not support Djukanovic. In addition, Doris Pack said, “In Montenegro, a candidate country for EU membership, [the] autocratic Prime Minister has set [himself] above the law, arresting peaceful demonstrators”. More importantly, Russia has publicly condemned the police violence in Montenegro. As of now, protests are continuing, and so the fight for freedom continues. During all of his years in power, Djukanovic has not ruled by the will of his people, but by the will of Washington. How long he can remain in power, we will see. But one thing is for sure: the beginning of the end has begun for the last dictator in Europe.