Yugoslavia Accuses CIA of Montenegro Killing
dailynews.yahoo.com
By Beti Bilandzic
BELGRADE (Reuters) - A Yugoslav minister accused the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on Tuesday of organizing last week's murder of a senior official
in pro-Western Montenegro with the aim of destabilizing the country.
Information Minister Goran Matic said the murder of Goran Zugic, security adviser of Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic, was stage-managed by the CIA as
a last resort to stir up conflict in the republic.
``When all promotion of conflicts failed in the territory of the republic of Montenegro there was a promotion of a terrorist act under direct control and supervision of
the CIA which is directly linked to the murder of Goran Zugic,'' Matic told a news conference.
``With this terrorist act representatives of the CIA wanted to ascribe this act to Belgrade and Serbia.''
Montenegro is the reluctant partner of the far larger Serbia in the Yugoslav federation.
Zugic, who was a close friend of Djukanovic, was killed by an unknown gunman outside his apartment block in the Montenegrin
capital Podgorica last Wednesday.
Djukanovic said on Monday in Lisbon that the killing pointed to mounting pressure by the government of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic against his
pro-Western policies, but he stopped short of openly blaming Milosevic or his allies.
Montenegro faces local elections later this month widely seen as a test of strength between Djukanovic's government and backers of Milosevic in Montenegro.
Matic played a tape of what he said was a telephone conversation between two U.S. officials in the region, saying it showed CIA involvement in the killing of Zugic.
Matic has in recent months held several news conferences about alleged plots against Yugoslavia, including what he said was a plan by a group called Spider to kill
Milosevic.
He said the United States had launched subversive actions against Yugoslavia after its efforts to achieve its goals through infiltration of ``mercenaries and paid
opposition parties'' failed to produce results.
Yugoslav officials frequently blame Montenegro and the Serbian opposition of being Western lackeys plotting to destroy Serbia.
``In October, (the United States) started subversive terrorist acts in the territory of Yugoslavia with the aim of undermining the internal stability of the country and
portraying to its citizens that the country was unsafe,'' Matic said.
Matic was apparently referring to a series of high-profile and mysterious murders of public figures in Serbia. |
