Montenegro Confirms Independence

Montenegro's state electoral commission today confirmed the republic would split from Serbia and establish a new independent Balkan state.

Fratisek Lipka, the EU-appointed head of the commission, said the almost complete results of a referendum on seceding from Serbia showed 55.4% had voted for Montenegro to become independent.

The EU set a 55% minimum of "Yes" votes for the independence referendum to be considered valid.

The results of Sunday's referendum - which attracted a turnout of almost 90% - effectively killed off what remains of Yugoslavia, leaving Serbia facing the results of 15 years of Yugoslav disintegration.

As the first indications of the result began to trickle through last night, fuelled by projections by an independent monitoring organisation, thousands of independence supporters gathered on the streets of the capital, Podgorica.

The state-run television channel reported celebrations taking place all over the mountainous republic on the Adriatic Sea. It congratulated Montenegro's 620,000 citizens on gaining independence and declared Sunday "the day for history".

Hours after the polls had closed, the pro-independence prime minister, Milo Djukanovic, declared victory for the "Yes" canpaign.

"Today, the citizens of Montenegro voted to restore their statehood," he said. "This is the most important day in Montenegro's recent history."

Outside the government building in Podgorica, thousands of waved red and gold Montenegro flags.

However, tensions surfaced as anti-independence activists refused to concede defeat, urging their opponents to return to their homes and wait for the official results.

Predrag Bulatovic, the leader of the pro-Serbia unionist camp, voiced doubts over the integrity of the voting process and alleged "destabilisation".

In the run-up to yesterday's vote, relations between Serbia and Montenegro had become so fraught that they were unable to agree on a common entrant for Saturday's Eurovision song contest, and withdrew.

However, the republics will field a joint team at the World Cup in Germany next month.

Serbs outnumber Montenegrins nine to one in the loose union set up three years ago on the insistence of Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief.

The Montenegrin government reluctantly agreed to the union on condition that yesterday's referendum would be held, and its new independence will confirm Serbia as the big loser from Yugoslavia's disintegration.

Negotiations currently under way in Vienna are expected to result in Serbia losing its Albanian-majority southern province of Kosovo.

The Serb media today reluctantly accepted the result of Montenegro's referendum. Reuters reported that Serbian newspapers had proclaimed "Breakaway" and "It's Over" on their front pages.

Once an independent kingdom, Montenegro was erased from the map after the first world war and merged into the newly-formed Yugoslavia.