MONTENEGRO: YUGOSLAV ARMY CHECKPOINT FOOTAGE
(21 May 1999) Serbo-Croat/Nat
Montenegran President Milo Djukanovic has accused Belgrade of planning a military coup, after the Yugoslav army set up heavily armed checkpoints on all main roads into the republic.
A-P-T-N has obtained secretly filmed footage of one of the checkpoints, where Yugoslav soldiers are blocking imports of raw materials, confiscating humanitarian aid and preventing Westerners - including U-N-H-C-R staff - from entering.
Montenegro is Serbia's smaller partner in the Yugoslav Federation but has refused to side with Belgrade against NATO airstrikes, creating growing tension between the two.
Montenegran police allowed the trucks to cross the border with Croatia but the convoy was soon stopped at a checkpoint manned by the Yugoslav military.
The Yugoslav army has effectively seized control of the small republic's border crossing, with checkpoints on all main roads into the country.
The United Nations' refugee agency (U-N-H-C-R) confirmed that three of its trucks were stopped.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Three trucks carrying humanitarian aid have been stopped and we have also had difficulty with international staff getting past the check post. At this point we are giving the government an opportunity to negotiate a conclusion to this, I have requested that agencies hold staff and aid for 24-76 hours to wait for clarification of what compromise has been reached before we encourage aid to come down from Croatia."
SUPER CAPTION: Robert Breen, UNHCR, Podgorica
A-P-T-N obtained this footage of a checkpoint set up by the Yugoslav army in Kumbor, three kilometres (one mile) from Herceg Novi, Montenegro's lone crossing into Croatia.
The footage, filmed secretly using a small camera, shows a heavily manned checkpoint, where soldiers have dug in machine gun positions.
There were reports on Thursday that humanitarian aid was confiscated from the Italian charity "Beati i Costruttori di Pace". Two truckloads of French medical and food aid were confiscated at the weekend.
Montenegro's government is controlled by its pro-Western president, Milo Djukanovic, who opposes President Slobodan Milosevic's confrontational policies on Kosovo.
In an interview on Thursday with the local Montena-fax news agency, Djukanovic accused Belgrade of trying to install a "dictatorship power" in his country.
He condemned what he called "this stupid blockade".
Deputy Prime Minister Dragisa Burzan also accused Belgrade of trying to take power in Montenegro.
SOUNDBITE: (Serbo-Croat)
"This is an attempt by the Yugoslav army to destabilise the situation in Montenegro"
SUPERCAPTION: Dragisa Burzan, Deputy Prime Minister
Tensions brought about by the air campaign have led to a power struggle between the Belgrade-controlled Yugoslav army and the Djukanovic-controlled Montenegrin police over control of the tiny republic.
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