LJUBLJANA : A Yugoslav Divorce

The Slovenian Parliament meets in the tiny Alpine republic’s capital Wednesday to vote independence from the rest of Yugoslavia despite repeated warnings by Europe and America that it risks getting a cold shoulder from the rest of the world.

Western governments fear Slovenia’s secession--likely to be followed quickly by neighboring Croatia--will further destabilize Yugoslavia, where ethnic violence has claimed two dozen lives in recent weeks.

But the most prosperous and westernized of Yugoslavia’s six republics is gripped by a fever for sovereignty. Most of its 2 million residents fear they face an even more uncertain future if they stay in the fractured federation.