the economist
Jan 8th 2011, 0:54 by T.J.
MONTENEGRO’S embassy in London does not have a reputation for being particularly combative. It does not normally have call to be. But it has recently become embroiled in a bizarre row between Iain Gray, the leader of the Scottish Labour Party, and the Scottish National Party (SNP), which seeks independence for Scotland.
MONTENEGRO’S embassy in London does not have a reputation for being particularly combative. It does not normally have call to be. But it has recently become embroiled in a bizarre row between Iain Gray, the leader of the Scottish Labour Party, and the Scottish National Party (SNP), which seeks independence for Scotland.
An article on the SNP website describes Montenegro, which in 2006 regained the independence it had lost with the creation of Yugoslavia in 1918, as a success story Scotland should seek to emulate. It says: “with the IMF estimating growth rates of up to 5.5% for the Montenegrin economy, the future looks bright.” In fact, in 2009 Montenegro’s economy contracted by 5.7%, and it is expected to have expanded by just 0.5% last year. A spokesperson for the SNP admits the website piece refers to a 2006 figure.
The piece also claims that Montenegro is the world’s newest state. But it is not even the newest state in the Balkans; that position was taken by Kosovo in 2008 (one of the consequences of the NATO military intervention of 1999, fiercely opposed at the time by Alex Salmond, the SNP’s leader and Scotland’s current first minister). Finally, the SNP claims:
“Montenegro shows us just how easy it can be to become an independent country. 40 days is all it took for Montenegro to regain her freedom. It could be Scotland next.”
The divorce of Montenegro from Serbia took the best part of a decade, but never mind that. (An SNP spokesperson says that the claim refers to the 40 days from a referendum on independence to joining the UN.) What has enraged the Montenegrins was a mocking speech made by Mr Gray in Holyrood, the Scottish parliament, on December 23rd, in response to the SNP’s claims:
“Forty days, plus two world wars, the Balkan conflict, ethnic cleansing, a war crimes tribunal and a UN peacekeeping operation. You could not make this stuff up – unless you were the SNP!”
“We had to react,” says Marijana Zivkovic, the charge d’affaires at the Montenegrin embassy. She wrote to Mr Gray, copying in Ed Miliband, Labour’s national leader:
"Your statement that Montenegro was involved in 'ethnic cleansing', including your references to 'a war crimes tribunal and a UN peacekeeping mission', is simply incorrect…It was the only former Yugoslav republic where neither war nor devastations took place in the last decade of the 20th century. Apart from the fact that there was no ethnic cleansing, Montenegro also opened its doors to the refugees of all nations."
...more...
“Montenegro shows us just how easy it can be to become an independent country. 40 days is all it took for Montenegro to regain her freedom. It could be Scotland next.”
The divorce of Montenegro from Serbia took the best part of a decade, but never mind that. (An SNP spokesperson says that the claim refers to the 40 days from a referendum on independence to joining the UN.) What has enraged the Montenegrins was a mocking speech made by Mr Gray in Holyrood, the Scottish parliament, on December 23rd, in response to the SNP’s claims:
“Forty days, plus two world wars, the Balkan conflict, ethnic cleansing, a war crimes tribunal and a UN peacekeeping operation. You could not make this stuff up – unless you were the SNP!”
“We had to react,” says Marijana Zivkovic, the charge d’affaires at the Montenegrin embassy. She wrote to Mr Gray, copying in Ed Miliband, Labour’s national leader:
"Your statement that Montenegro was involved in 'ethnic cleansing', including your references to 'a war crimes tribunal and a UN peacekeeping mission', is simply incorrect…It was the only former Yugoslav republic where neither war nor devastations took place in the last decade of the 20th century. Apart from the fact that there was no ethnic cleansing, Montenegro also opened its doors to the refugees of all nations."
...more...
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