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Balkans

Balkan Bisection

May 22, 2006 at 9:20 AM | 0 Comments

Big news from the Adriatic this weekend, as Montenegro did indeed vote to secede from Serbia. According to EU regulations, the referendum needed 55% of the vote to pass, and the yes vote ended up at 55.4%. The Montenegrins celebrated Balkans-style in the streets of Podgorica, the capital, by firing shots in the air and waving their flag.

Ethnic Serbs make up roughly a third of the country's population--you'll remember that large ethnic minorities are what percipitated most of the problems in Yugoslavia in the 1990s--but so far, they had yet to take any serious negative action.

Over the weekend, Montenegro Airlines--they have all-leather seats, just like jetBlue--cancelled most flights to Belgrade in order to increase flights from the rest of Europe, and bring in as many ex-pat Montenegrins as possible. Ex-pats were thought to be more pro-secession, and it sounds like it may have made the difference in the vote. Congratulations, Montenegro.

[Imag e via achecci16/Flickr]

Related Stories:
·   Montenegrins Elect to End Union [NY Times]
·   The Full Montenegro [Jaunted]