Yugoslavia is in political turmoilafter a major government split over the decision to extraditeMr Slobodan Milosevic to face war crimes charges at UN court, SerbianPrime Minister Mr Zoran Djindjic warned today.
The snap transfer met with international applause and pledges ofmore than a billion dollars in vital aid at a donors conference inBrussels, but cast a long shadow over the future of the federationlinking Serbia and Montenegro, Mr Djindjic said.
"The federation is in a deep crisis,'' Mr Djindjic told German ARDtelevision.
The former president's extradition was pushed through byMr Djindjic's Serbian government despite opposition by former Milosevicallies, the Montenegrin Socialist People's Party (SNP).
Yugoslav Prime Minister Mr Zoran Zizic, one of the leaders of the SNP, immediately resigned, which under Yugoslav law means the wholefederal cabinet must step down.
He said cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal forthe former Yugoslavia `"has disrupted coalition relations within thefederal government.''
The SNP, one-time Milosevic allies, threw in their lot withSerbia's DOS reformist coalition at the federal level last Octoberafter a popular uprising that forced Mr Milosevic to accept electoraldefeat.
The move by the SNP, who support the idea of a united Yugoslaviamade up of Serbia and its much smaller sister republic ofMontenegro, further threatened the stability of Yugoslavia, alreadythrown into question by a narrow win by Montenegrin separatists inthat republic's election in April.
Mr Djindjic said it was time for Montenegro's people to make itclear where they stood.
"We have to find a concept for reforming the federation, whichcan then be presented to the people of Montenegro as a possiblesolution to this crisis," he said.
"If it is rejected, then we will simply have to separate, and ifit is accepted, we will have to organise new elections and changethe constitution. Hopefully this could take place by the end of theyear," he said.
AFP