ONE THIRD OF MONTENEGRO'S POPULATION WOULD BOYCOTT REFERENDUM

PODGORICA, Nov 15 (Hina) - The decisive factor for the result of the referendum on Montenegro's independence will be the persistence of pro-Yugoslav parties in boycotting the voting, a research conducted for the U.S. State Department on 1,020 Montenegrin residents over 18 between Sept. 28 and Oct. 2 has shown. If said parties persist in the boycott, the vote in favour of independence will be much stronger, says a document, marked as confidential but unprotected, which Podgorica's Vijesti newspaper published on Thursday. The research shows that two thirds of those questioned would support holding a referendum on Montenegro's independence, whereas the rest would support the boycott. In July, for instance, 46 percent favoured the latter. Fifty percent would vote for independent and internationally recognised Montenegro, mostly those backing the incumbent government and the pro-independence parties, as well as ethnic Montenegrins. Thirty-two percent would vote against, mainly opposition parties and ethnic Serbs. Eighteen percent would either not vote or abstain. Uncertainty regarding the future may not be surprising given that, apart from the boycott, other key referendum issues remain undefined, for instance the percentage of voters required to make the voting valid, the research document says. (hina) ha sb