After 15 years of fighting, bloodshed and atrocities too terrible to mention, the battle for a greater Serbia is over. Montenegro's vote for independence yesterday ends the dysfunctional union between Serbia and Montenegro and means that the last link to the country formerly known as Yugoslavia has ceased to exist.

The secessions of Slovenia, Macedonia and now Montenegro were relatively peaceful affairs. The wars to achieve independence for Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo were three of the most horrendous episodes since the Second World War.

On the positive side, if there can possibly be one from the misery that these conflicts have caused, it's that the Serbs can now focus on their own core republic and start to reform and rebuild their lives, both socially and economically. The peace-loving folk of Serbia, and they, surely, are the vast majority, deserve that opportunity.