News not so princely
Deepa Bharath
SANTA ANA HEIGHTS -- Thursday was a historic day for a country in
Eastern Europe with a population only six times larger than Costa Mesa.
And it was historic for one home here.
Montenegro arrived at a new agreement with Serbia that will shelve the
country’s independence plans and relegate the name of Yugoslavia to
history books.
While many who live in the area may not have heard about the country
or even paid attention to the news, there is one Santa Ana Heights
resident who is concerned about the issue.
Because Montenegro is home to 73-year-old Milena Petrovic-Njegos
Thompson, daughter of Milo, the country’s former prince.
Thompson was born and raised in the United States, for the most part,
by her mother Helena Smith Petrovic-Njegos. Her parents were married in
Santa Barbara in 1927. But her father, who was exiled from his country
after World War I, couldn’t stay far away from his homeland.
“He fought for the freedom of Montenegro, not in the battlefield, but
in every other way he could,” said Thompson.
So he left for Europe when Thompson was an infant. She did not meet
her father until 39 years later. He died in 1978.
Thompson said she was disheartened by the day’s news because she, like
her late father, hopes the people of Montenegro will be free some day.
“They were a free country for 700 years before World War I,” she said.
“Now, a new institution for a joint state has been established. But it’s
still Yugoslavia, only with a different name.”
The United States supports Thursday’s agreement, but only because it
and other Western nations believe it will put off upheavals in Eastern
Europe.
But Thompson believes it will have the opposite effect.
“The people of Montenegro will still want their freedom,” she said.
“It’s not going to go away.”
Last year, Thompson’s biography of her father titled “My Father, the
Prince” was published.
“I don’t claim it’s a historic document,” she said. “But it’s a story
by a daughter about her father, who led an interesting life.”
Does she fancy herself as a princess?
“Not really,” she says. “I fancy myself as part of the former royal
family of Montenegro. And I’m proud of my father as I am proud of my
mother.”
Her parents were divorced 10 years after they were married. But
Thompson said her mother understood the prince’s need to be close to
Montenegro.
Thompson herself took a trip to Montenegro in the 1970s, she said.
‘At that time it was a quasi-Communist country under Marshall Tito,”
she said. “But I did not sense an austere feeling about that place. I
felt quite comfortable.”
She did think about buying a summer home along the gorgeous
Montenegrin coast, but that did not work out, Thompson said.
Some day she says she hopes to go back to visit as she hopes for the
freedom of Montenegro, a cause to which her father dedicated all his
life.
“They’re still controlled and influenced by Serbia,” Thompson said.
“There is a lot of fear and intimidation, which will not go away until
the people are free.”
* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at
(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 deepa.bharath@latimes.comf7 .
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