By JENINNE LEE-ST. JOHN

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Montenegro voted last week to split from Serbia, ending the last union between states of the former Yugoslavia. Nationalists in the Balkan republic (celebrating at left), which hopes to join the European Union, aren't alone in their secessionist spirit. Here are six other territories with aspirations to join the countries club:

BERMUDA, Britain's oldest colony, is already largely self-governing, but a determined minority of the North Atlantic territory's 65,000 residents--led by Premier Alex Scott--have been pushing full independence for years.

GREENLAND, part of Denmark since 1775, has had home rule since 1979. Separatists, including Prime Minister Hans Enoksen, want control of defense, then eventual independence.

NEW CALEDONIA got France to cede direct rule in 1991. A vote on full sovereignty for the South Pacific archipelago is expected between 2014 and 2019.

PAPUA, an Indonesian province, has had a simmering separatist movement for 30 years. But its model, East Timor, has struggled since gaining sovereignty in '99.

SOMALILAND, the most stable part of the Horn of Africa, declared independence from war-racked Somalia in 1991. After 15 years of relatively good government, it's getting some international recognition. Ethiopia just opened an embassy there.

WESTERN SAHARA, occupied by Morocco, should vote on nationhood, according to a U.N. plan brokered in 1991. But intractable disagreements between Morocco and independence-minded guerrillas have left the territory in limbo.

From the Jun. 5, 2006 issue of TIME magazine