A Place to Stand

That statement came from Geoff Hoon whose word is to be trusted, or otherwise. Indeed the enthusiasm of the western powers for this outbreak of democracy denied by these same war criminals to the people of Krajina, the people of Republika Srpska, the Basque people and indeed the people of the much more populous Rhode Island

Minister for Europe Geoff Hoon has welcomed Montenegro's declaration of independence, ending its century-long union with Serbia.

In Sunday's referendum, 55.5 per cent voted to end ties with Serbia, meeting the EU requirement of a 55 per cent “yes” vote for independence.

The results have been hailed as the final nail in the coffin for Yugoslavia, which broke up following the Balkan wars of the 1990s. Montenegro's independence comes after ten years of peaceful campaigns, joining Macedonia in leaving the union without violence.

Mr Hoon said: "The people of Montenegro have expressed a clear desire for an independent state. This is an important moment in the history of Montenegro.

"We are pleased that [the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights] declared that the referendum complied with international standards. All sides in Montenegro, and the Serbian authorities, must now work together to determine the way forward."

The truth, as in most things reported by our media, is less simple. The fact that the referendum required a majority of 55%, that after the polls closed but before the count was completed they were able to declare that it had passed at 55.4% & that the government's final count came to 55.5% reveals a degree of skill in predicting election results worthy of the latJosefef Stalin.

Had such a result come up in a non-western ruled country this would undoubtedly have caused western "observers" to suggest something dodgy. Remember how the BBC insisted the Ukraine results were undemocratic, something they never said of Birmingham?

In fact, though unreported here, NATO were playing with an entirely fixed deck. Apart from the continuous murders of local Serb leaders, which the police, heavily recruited from Croats & Albanians, have been unable to solve, the implicit threats by EU leaders, the vast amount of Mafia activity in which the government is fully implicated (the BBC euphemistically referred to this as allegations of cigarette smuggling by the President but did not mention his role in sex slavery & torture as entertainment) & the flying in by the incredibly well financed proponents, of people of alleged Montenegran descent from Germany & the US to cast their votes before flying home we also have massive outright fraud.

In a "nation" of 630,000 even a little fraud goes a long way.<

241 complaints to municipal referendum commissions, claiming irregularities in the voting. A bloc leader Predrag Popovic said that the number of voters at contested polling places amounted to 120,000 and that it could change the final outcome of the referendum in which, according to preliminary results, "independists", led by Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic won 55.5 per cent of votes.

Popovic said the municipal referendum commissions have to rule on the complaints by nine o’clock today, after which the complaints go to republican referendum commission, chaired by Czech diplomat Frantisek Lipka.

The president of Podgorica municipal referendum commission Cedo Kaludjerovic said that 50 complaints were lodged in the capital itself, comprising 30,000 voters.

He said that the complaints were justified, but that the municipal commission would most likely not be able to reach a consensus decision, because both blocs are equally represented in the body. In such a case, complaints would go to republican commission in which Lipka’s voice would prevail.

The "unionists" have complained of irregularities mostly in ethnic Albanian populated areas, saying many voters came from abroad and voted illegally with false documents.

They also presented a list of 2,671 independence supporters, who reside in Serbia, but who voted in the referendum. Montenegro's election law banned some 300,000 Montenegrins living in Serbia from voting, suspecting they would oppose independence.

.....Lajcak on Wednesday accused the "unionists" of "irresponsible behaviour" for insisting on irregularities. Lipka has to proclaim final official results on Tuesday, after which the unsatisfied party can appeal to Montenegro Constitutional court. But Popovic said they would not take that step, because there was no point appealing to the court controlled by Djukanovic.

It remains, of course, a matter of fact that every EU & US leader involved is still committed under the Helsinki Treaty to take no action against the territorial integrity Yugoslavia & other signatories - this resulted in every single person working for any of these countries who possessed the remotest trace of integrity having to resign. Fortunately for them they do not employ any such peopleAt least with Montenegro it may be that the country's enslavement by the Nazis has so far taken place without the wholesale (as opposed to retail) genocide NATO has encouraged elsewhere.

Perhaps the last word should go to the President of Georgia who explains the democratic nature of the reasons why South Ossetia should not have a similar right to secede.

The decision on separation of former Yugoslavia involved the UN, NATO and the whole international community. In our [Georgia's ] case, there is a certain group of Russian politicians who are pushing for independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and with all respect to these politicians I do not think their power and influence can be compared with the influence of the forces that decided the fate of Yugoslavia.