This week, a newspaper in Montenegro ran a headline saying "We Have Our Own Country," a reflection of what the Montenegrins have long hoped for. A majority of Montenegrins voted for independence in a referendum on Sunday, ending Montenegro's union with the much larger Serbia and breaking up the last remnant of federal Yugoslavia.
Over the past two decades, two countries in the European region have disintegrated. The first disintegration took place when the Soviet Union split into 15 separate nations. The second one occurred when Yugoslavia broke up into six separate countries. The dissolution of these two countries has shown a respect for democratic principles and the right of self-determination.
Although the disintegration of federal Yugoslavia led to severe conflict, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia and Slovenia broke away from Yugoslavia to become sovereign nations. Montenegro's secession has left Serbia the only member of a federal Yugoslavia and so that name can no longer be used.
Montenegro's efforts to split from Serbia were peaceful and clearly showed the greatest respect for the public's choice. First of all, the results of the referendum were not collectively decided by those living within federal Yugoslavia, but by the people of Montenegro themselves in a local referendum. Serbia is eight times larger than Montenegro and its population 11 times greater.
If the future of Montenegro had been collectively decided by the Serbs, it would have been a classical example of how a larger nation bullies a smaller and how the larger nation deprives the people of the smaller nation of their right to choose.
In recent years, the independence of East Timor and Slovakia have also been achieved as a result of the local people's decision rather than by being decided in a "collective decision" also made by outsiders. In the past, the independence referendum in Quebec was also decided by people living in Quebec rather than collectively by all Canadians. This also demonstrates a respect for the principle of local self-determination.
Montenegro's successful independence should also be credited to Serbia. Serbia is already a democracy. It did not threaten to use military force against Montenegro when it decided to hold an independence referendum.
In fact, three years ago Serbia agreed to let Montenegro hold such a referendum to decide its relationship with the Yugoslav federation, and stated that it would respect the results of that referendum. This was very similar to what happened when Slovakia and the Czech Republic split up a few years ago. It was also a very peaceful separation, mainly because then-president Vaclav Havel and the majority of the Czech people respected the people's right to choose.
Although the pro-unification faction within Montenegro was strongly opposed to Montenegrin independence, they still held on to democratic principles by agreeing to make "independence" one of the options in the referendum and refraining from setting a high threshold for the referendum. They agreed to rules laid down by the EU, whereby separation would require at least 55 percent of votes cast, with at least half of the electorate participating.
Following the independence of Montenegro, Kosovo -- formerly in union with Yugoslavia but now enjoying autonomy -- will be next in letting the public decide on the question of independence. The disintegration of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia has created 20 new nations, evidence that respect for a people's right to self-determination has become an international norm.
Cao Changqing is a writer based in the US.
Translated by Daniel Cheng
Pat Gelsinger took the reins as Intel CEO three years ago with hopes of reviving the US industrial icon. He soon made a big mistake. Intel had a sweet deal going with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the giant manufacturer of semiconductors for other companies. TSMC would make chips that Intel designed, but could not produce and was offering deep discounts to Intel, four people with knowledge of the agreement said. Instead of nurturing the relationship, Gelsinger — who hoped to restore Intel’s own manufacturing prowess — offended TSMC by calling out Taiwan’s precarious relations with China. “You don’t want all of
A chip made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) was found on a Huawei Technologies Co artificial intelligence (AI) processor, indicating a possible breach of US export restrictions that have been in place since 2019 on sensitive tech to the Chinese firm and others. The incident has triggered significant concern in the IT industry, as it appears that proxy buyers are acting on behalf of restricted Chinese companies to bypass the US rules, which are intended to protect its national security. Canada-based research firm TechInsights conducted a die analysis of the Huawei Ascend 910B AI Trainer, releasing its findings on Oct.
In honor of President Jimmy Carter’s 100th birthday, my longtime friend and colleague John Tkacik wrote an excellent op-ed reassessing Carter’s derecognition of Taipei. But I would like to add my own thoughts on this often-misunderstood president. During Carter’s single term as president of the United States from 1977 to 1981, despite numerous foreign policy and domestic challenges, he is widely recognized for brokering the historic 1978 Camp David Accords that ended the state of war between Egypt and Israel after more than three decades of hostilities. It is considered one of the most significant diplomatic achievements of the 20th century.
As the war in Burma stretches into its 76th year, China continues to play both sides. Beijing backs the junta, which seized power in the 2021 coup, while also funding some of the resistance groups fighting the regime. Some suggest that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is hedging his bets, positioning China to side with the victors regardless of the outcome. However, a more accurate explanation is that China is acting pragmatically to safeguard its investments and ensure the steady flow of natural resources and energy for its economy. China’s primary interest is stability and supporting the junta initially seemed like the best
RSS