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Serbia and Montenegro since 1997
Tensions increased in Kosovo in 1997 and 1998, as a period of nonviolent civil disobedience against Serbian rule gave way to the rise of a guerrilla army. In Mar., 1999, following mounting repression of ethnic Albanians and the breakdown of negotiations between separatists and the Serbs, NATO began bombing military targets throughout Yugoslavia. Thousands of ethnic Albanians were forcibly deported from Kosovo by Yugoslav troops. In June, Milosevic agreed to withdraw from Kosovo, and NATO peacekeepers entered the region. Demonstrations in the latter half of 1999 against Milosevic failed to force his resignation. Meanwhile, Montenegro sought increased autonomy within the federation and began making moves toward that goal.
In July, 2000, the national constitution was amended to permit the president to hold office for two terms and to institute direct presidential elections; the changes were designed to permit Milosevic to remain in power beyond a single term and reduce Montenegrin influence in the federal government. When elections were held in September, however. Milosevic was defeated by Vojislav Kostunica, who was supported by a coalition of 18 opposition parties (Democratic Opposition of Serbia; DOS). The election commission initially refused to certify Kostunica as the outright victor, but Milosevic conceded after a general strike was called, demonstrators took over the federal parliament building, and Russia recognized Kostunica.
A coalition consisting of the DOS and Montenegrin Socialists formed a Yugoslav government, and in early elections (Dec., 2000) the DOS won control of the Serbian parliament. Kostunica replaced several top military officers : a move designed in part to placate Montenegro : but he initially refused to hand Milosevic over to the international war crimes court in the Hague. In early 2001 Milosevic and some of his associates in the former government were arrested on various charges. The former president was turned over to the war crimes tribunal by the Serbian government in June, prompting the Montenegrin Socialists to resign from the federal coalition. Relations between Kostunica and Serbian prime minister Zoran Djindjic became strained, with the former concerned more about preserving the federation with Montenegro and the latter about winning Western foreign aid and reforming the economy.
In Mar., 2002, Serbian and Montenegrin representatives, under pressure from the European Union and other nations opposed to immediate Montenegrin independence (fearing that it could lead to further disintegration and fighting), agreed on a restructured federal union, and a constitutional charter for a "state community" was adopted by the Serbian, Montenegrin, and federal parliaments by Feb., 2003. Following the federal parliament's approval of the charter, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was reconstituted as Serbia and Montenegro. Most governmental power shifted to the two republics. Although the two republics have a common foreign and defense policy, they now have separate currencies and customs regulations, and after three years either republic may vote to leave the union. Svetozar Marovic, of Montenegro, was elected president of the union in March.
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