Ljubisa Obradovic also takes a look behind the sacking of FRY Prime Minister Radoje Kontic in the May 21, 1998 issue of the Krgujevac by-weekly Nezavisna Svetlost.

A number of political analysts, looking for a logical explanation why are relations with Montenegro being tensed until a breaking point, and at that, in the midst of the Kosovo crisis, think that this is a part of Milosevic' s deal with Richard Holbrooke. Supposedly, Montenegro is not a regional problem like Kosovo, and in it, Milosevic has a much more serious stronghold (almost half of the voters are Bulatovic' s supporters) then in the Southern province, from where the conflict could spread throughout the Balkans.

The only (!) problem with this theory is that up until now, Djukanovic had a full support of USA and Europe for his reformist and Anti-Milosevic course.

Be as it may, prime minister Kontic, who was renowned for the fact that he did not meddle much into his job, was deposed of on May 18, and this with the six votes of Bulatovic' s parliament members, whose mandates were revoked three days before that by their mother parliament in Podgorica.

The same group was the one that actually initiated the change in the premiership post on May 12, with the explanation, that he has shown unduly restraint concerning the crisis in Montenegro, allowing that the Montenegrin government issues a number of lies and not argumented criticisms at the account of the federal government, while not stating publicly the official government position on this.

The decisions of the federal parliament caused an urgent reaction of the Montenegrin Prliament, which went into a permanent session a day later (May 19), until the election day on May 31, deciding that it does not recognize the decisions of the new government, considering its election illegal.

Showing much less worry was the key actor of the Serb-Montenegrin drama, Slobodan Milosevic. The president of the ruling Montenegrin DPS, Milica Pejanovic - Djurisic testifies that during the consultations concerning the new prime minister she warned the FRY president that with his actions he will have to take on the responsibility for all future moves, and responding to a question from the press what did he respond, she said: Nothing, as usual, he calmly listened to everything.



Source: Kragujevc by-weekly Nezavisna Svetlost, May 21, 1998