Montenegro President Injured in Car Crash

PODGORICA, Yugoslavia —  President Milo Djukanovic of Montenegro suffered unspecified injuries and was hospitalized Monday night after his limousine crashed on a mountain road despite a security cordon meant to protect a figure whose defiance of Slobodan Milosevic was crucial in toppling the Yugoslav dictator.

News of the crash initially triggered alarm in top government offices here because it was assumed to have been an attempt on the pro-Western president’s life. One senior official blurted out after hearing of the crash: “There is no way this was an accident! There is no way this wasn’t a setup!”

A terse government statement surfaced on Montenegrin television five hours after the crash, and it contained neither pictures of Djukanovic, who reportedly was recuperating, nor any footage from the crash scene. In a region rife with conspiracy theories, official attempts to play down the incident could unleash fears of hard-line retaliation if Djukanovic fails to appear in public soon to show that he is not seriously injured.

Milosevic Loyalists Still Control Armed Forces

Although euphoria has reigned in Serbia, Yugoslavia’s dominant republic, since Milosevic retreated from pro-democracy demonstrators in Belgrade, the capital, on Thursday, razor-sharp tensions still prevail in Montenegro, the federation’s smaller republic. Milosevic allies still control the federal armed forces and authoritarian political parties here that claim to represent Montenegro in the Yugoslav parliament.

Many here fear that Milosevic is still capable of setting his loyalists against Djukanovic allies in a battle for control of Montenegro. If the suspicious car crash proves to be the work of forces still loyal to Milosevic, Montenegrins may speed up their quest for independence.

Djukanovic has about two-thirds support in this republic of about 700,000 residents, but he is regarded as a traitor by many of the rest. He always travels in an armored motorcade with escort vehicles ahead and behind his limousine. The failure of that security vigilance to prevent the 4 p.m. crash cast further suspicion on the contradictory accounts of what happened near the mountain town of Cetinje, 20 miles southwest of Podgorica, the Montenegrin capital.

Conflicting Accounts of Events, Injuries

Three sources close to Djukanovic said a vehicle suddenly appeared in front of the limousine after the forward cars of the motorcade had sped past, although police usually clear the road ahead of the motorcade and halt traffic at crossroads. Two of the sources said it was a car that suddenly pulled in front of the president’s vehicle, but the other insisted that it was a motorcycle.

Colleagues and confidants of the president gave conflicting accounts of his injuries as well as the possibility that the crash was not accidental.

“This is a very dangerous situation,” said Deputy Prime Minister Dragisa Burzan, one senior official still unconvinced that the crash was an innocent mishap. “The initial reports are that it was an accident. But I want to see the reports on the police investigation.”

A family friend leaving the hospital where Djukanovic was being treated said the president suffered a back injury but was in relatively good condition. The television report of the government statement gave no specifics of his injuries, only that he was “recovering successfully.”

“It’s nothing,” insisted poet Jevrem Vrkovic, another Djukanovic friend. Vrkovic said the president had injured his foot, but he acknowledged that he had not seen Djukanovic.

Another source close to Djukanovic said the president injured his neck when the speeding limousine veered off the road to avoid hitting the intruding vehicle, became airborne as it soared up an embankment and rolled 360 degrees before landing upright. It was not known whether the president was wearing a seat belt, but many in the Balkans regard seat belts as unmanly.