Social massacre in Serbia
7.
A) Serbian Regime Passes Sweeping Law To Purge Former
Officials From All Government, Public, Media Positions
B) Last US Sanctions Lifted As Serbia And Montenegro
'Integrate Into International Community'
C) German Businesses To Invest In Serbia
8.
Serbia: Workers' protests held in Nis, Kragujevac
9.
58 COMPANIES IN SERBIA PRIVATIZED IN APRIL; PROPERTY OF PRIVATIZED
ENTERPRISES WILL BE PROTECTED, VLAHOVIC
10.
Free press under fire in Serbia (by David Binder)
11.
Serbia prepares ground for oil privitisation
12.
Financial Times:
A) River traffic falls as users get Danube blues
B) Walk-out at central bank strips Serbia of top economic talent
13.
THREE WAZ [GERMAN] TOP MANAGERS TO HEAD POLITIKA
14. SERBIAN PREMIER VISITS USA:
A. ZIVKOVIC FOR STRONGER TIES BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND BELGRADE
B. POWELL PRAISES SERBIAN, SCG GOVERNMENTS AND BACKS REFORMIST COURSE
C. ZIVKOVIC ON TALKS WITH PIERRE RICHARD PROSPER
D. ZIVKOVIC AND SVILANOVIC MEET CONGRESSMEN IN WASHINGTON
E. US CONGRESS INCREASES AID TO 135 ML DLRS ["AGAINST ORGANIZED CRIME"]
F. Zivkovic: Belgrade, Washington Becoming Allies
G. ZIVKOVIC:US SECRETARY OF STATE PROMISED PARTICIPATION OF SERBIAN
COMPANIES IN IRAQ'S RECONSTRUCTION
H. SERBIAN PREMIER: CASE OF FORMER BOSNIAN SERB LEADER [MLADIC] TO BE
CLOSED BY END OF YEAR
I. ZIVKOVIC ALL SMILES AFTER US VISIT
15.
CONTINUING DROUGHT COULD SPELL DISASTER
16. SERBIAN MILITARY PURGES TO ESCALATE:
SCG BEGINS MILITARY SHAKE-UP; Chief of Military Intelligence dismissed;
TADIC: POSSIBLE MILITARY COOPERATION WITH ISRAEL
17.
[Serbia-Montenegro Minister of International Economic Relations Branko]
LUKOVAC SAYS BOTH SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO SHOULD BE INDEPENDENT
=== 7 ===
Da: kiosk
Data: Mar 3 Giu 2003 11:49:30 Europe/Rome
A: anti-imperialiste@...
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK
A) Serbian Regime Passes Sweeping Law To Purge Former
Officials From All Government, Public, Media Positions
B) Last US Sanctions Lifted As Serbia And Montenegro
'Integrate Into International Community'
C) German Businesses To Invest In Serbia
A.
http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2003/06/4-SEE/see-020603.asp
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty- June 2, 2003
SERBIA PASSES SWEEPING LUSTRATION LAW
The Serbian parliament approved a lustration law on 30
May which, if strictly enforced, could prove one of
the toughest measures in postcommunist Europe aimed at
excluding former officials and their supporters from
political power, university life, the security forces,
and the media, RFE/RL reported. PM
B.
http://www.seeurope.net/en/Story.php?StoryID=40794&LangID=1
Seeurope.net - June 2, 2003
Last US Sanctions Lifted
The latest decision by US President George Bush spells
the official end of US sanctions against Serbia-Montenegro, a US
Treasury representatives said Saturday.
Taylor Gorfin told media that the sanctions had been lifted gradually
and no more now remained.
Bush’s decision to lift national emergency orders
against Belgrade was another positive signal of
support for Serbia-Montenegro’s integration into the
[inter]national community, said Belgrade’s ambassador
to Washington, Ivan Vujicic, reported radio B92.
Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic told Belgrade’s
BK Television that he expected that US Secretary of
State Colin Powell would certify further financial
support for Serbia-Montenegro by June 15.
He described US financial assistance as significant,
but added that it was even more important that the US
now had no further political demands.
C.
http://www.serbia.sr.gov.yu/news/2003-06/02/329470.html
Serbia Info - June 2, 2003
German businesses to invest in Serbia
Belgrade, June 2, 2003 - Serbian Deputy Minister of
Transport and Telecommunications Miodrag Jocic said
Monday that Germany has announced a €30 million aid
package for Serbia's traffic infrastructure
development. At the opening of a forum gathering
entrepreneurs from Serbia and the North
Rhine-Westphalia province of Germany at Belgrade's
Hotel Hyatt, Jocic said that the aim of the conference
is to attract German investors to invest in Serbia's
transport, energy and mining, construction, and
spatial planning sectors.
Joerg Hennerkes, the Secretary of North
Rhine-Westphalia's Transport Ministry, said that
German businessmen should get as much information as
possible about prospective forms of cooperation in
these fields.
German Ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro Kurt
Leonberger said that Serbia has created a stable
political framework for foreign investment.
Another field in which Serbia needs a partner is air
transport. Deputy Minister of Transport and
Telecommunications Dragoljub Trgovcevic said that
cooperation is necessary for the building of a "cargo
centre" at Belgrade Airport.
Trgovcevic stressed that the airport has a very
favourable position which can provide the cheapest and
quickest transport of goods from the east to Europe.
He added that an airport modernisation project has
been prepared, and that total investment amounts to
some million.
Of the total amount, the European Investment Bank and
the Airport have provided million. Trgovcevic said
that tenders have been called for the modernisation of
the two existing passenger terminals, announcing that
the works should begin in February 2004.
=== 8 ===
Subj:[yugoslaviainfo] [Central] Serbia: Workers' protests held in Nis,
Kragujevac
Date:6/19/03 7:19:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From:p-tosic
To:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Sent from the Internet
[ The word 'Nezavisnost' means 'Independence' in Serbian. Trade union
'Nezavisnost' is one of the largest such organizations of industrial
workers in Serbia. ]
Serbia: Workers' protests held in Nis, Kragujevac
June 18, 2003 7:18pm
site on 18 June
Kragujevac, Nis: Thousands of workers protested today in front of the
town hall in the central Serbian city of Kragujevac. The demonstrators
were demanding dismissal of the Serbian government, full employment and
the establishment of a social dialogue.
Addressing the protesters, the leader of the Alliance of Independent
Unions of Serbia, Milenko Smiljanic, said that Serbia was on its knees
and the workers in the streets, adding that the situation could no
longer be tolerated. "When they ask me what the privatization process
will be like I tell them it will be slow, because many of those taking
part will end up in
jail," said Smiljanic.
The majority of employees from state-owned companies in Kragujevac
joined the demonstration, together with workers from other large
centres in the region.
Thousands of workers also took to the streets in the southern Serbian
city of Nis today, demanding that the Serbian government take steps
"for the salvation of Serbia's workers and economy". The Nezavisnost
Union, which organized the demonstration, has called its members to
rally in Belgrade on
25 June. Union leader Miodrag Randjelovic denied claims that the
demonstration was politically motivated, describing it as a
socio-economic protest. "We will not allow one more worker to be left
without a job or out on the street. We urge the government to come to
its senses," said Randjelovic, warning that the union would call for
the dismissal of the government and extraordinary parliamentary
elections.
Organizers claimed the workers came from more than a dozen towns and
cities throughout Serbia.
Source: Radio B92 text web site, Belgrade, in English 1850 gmt 18 Jun 03
=== 9 ===
58 COMPANIES IN SERBIA PRIVATIZED IN APRIL
BELGRADE, June 18 (Beta) - The director of the Serbian Privatization
Agency, Mirko Cvetkovic, stated on Wednesday that 58 companies were
sold in April, out of the 100 that have been offered for sale.
"Out of the total number of sold companies, two were sold at
tenders, 49 at auctions, and seven on the capital market," Cvetkovic
said at the session of the Serbian Legislature's Privatization
Committee.
He said that 7,214 workers were employed by these companies.
Cvetkovic announced an increase in sales in June, explaining
that 80 auctions have been scheduled, and that the sale of companies
dropped in May because they were busy with closing accounts.
PROPERTY OF PRIVATIZED ENTERPRISES WILL BE PROTECTED, VLAHOVIC
BELGRADE, July 22 (Tanjug) - The Serbian Ministry of
Economy and Privatization, in cooperation with other
ministries, will protect the private property of
privatized enterprises in the same way as it does with
other private companies in view of the fact that the
ownership transformation is aimed at building a more
efficient economy in which private property would
prevail, Minister Aleksandar Vlahovic said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a meeting on the protection of private
property interests in the post-privatization process
at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
Vlahovic said that enterprises could not be
restructured of privatized without partnership between
the Privatization Agency, trade union, state and
business associations.
Generally speaking, new owners encounter no problems
when they take over enterprises, although there are
exceptions, Vlahovic said and announced the adoption
of a law on denationalization by the end of the year,
under which original owners of enterprises would
receive financial compensation.
The state has obligations towards the original owners,
rather than the new owners, and the state allocates
five percent of privatization income for financial
compensation, he said.
President of the League for Property Protection
Slavenko Grgurevic said that the key problem lay in
the fact that the minister was urging the protection
of private property after privatization.
Original owners will sue the state and demand the
realization of their rights through the Council of
Europe, i.e. court at Strasbourg, Grgurevic said.
=== 10 ===
http://www.msnbc.com/news/931485.asp
Free press under fire in Serbia
U.S. protests new pressures on media
After the March assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, whose
death was mourned by tens of thousands, Serbia's new government has
targeted the country's independent media.
By David Binder
SPECIAL TO MSNBC
WASHINGTON, June 26 - Little noticed outside the country, the Serbian
government's crackdown on organized crime after the March 12
assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic has included repeated
attacks on the independent press. Newspapers have been closed,
journalists have been fined exorbitantly for alleged libel of
government officials by compliant courts and the media have accused the
government of censorship. The moves have drawn criticism from U.S. and
European officials, apparently to little avail. But that may be
changing.
IN ADDITION, the Serbian government has packed the nine-member state
Broadcasting Agency Council with its supporters including at least one
of questionable origin.
These actions have prompted protests and expressions of concern by U.S.
Ambassador William Montgomery, Ian Willem Blankert of the European
Commission and international press organizations such as the New
York-based Committee to
Protect Journalists. Yet until now, there has been no outcry from the
general public in Serbia.
The chief villain in the eyes of Serbian journalists is Vladimir "Baby"
Popovic, a flamboyant figure who is currently head of the coalition
government's Office of Communications.
Popovic, 44, has had a meteoric career, starting as a "brilliant"
accordion player, according those who know him, and working in Belgrade
as a hotel waiter, a maitre d? and then a budding businessman. His
marketing firm, Spektra, brought him into
contact with Zoran Djindjic and other politicians who helped topple
President Slobodan Milosevic three years ago. He then became the
Belgrade representative of Ogilvy & Mather, the global marketing firm.
He grew wealthy, bought apartments in several countries, collected art
and was reputed to have "outstanding success with women," one Serbian
paper reported. His moniker, "Baby," apparently alludes to his youthful
face.
BACK IN GOVERNMENT
But Djindjic, apparently disturbed by Popovic's continuing business
endeavors as a government employee, got rid of him last October.
Popovic resurfaced in March after the assassination of Djindjic, when
the government declared a national state of emergency, in his former
job. During the 42-day "emergency," in which more than 10,000 citizens
were detained and 4,000 arrested, a series of harsh measures viewed as
hostile to the media were instituted.
Nacional, a sensationalist tabloid, was banned and, three weeks later,
its assets were confiscated. Another newspaper, Identitet, was also
closed down. Heavy fines were imposed on two provincial television
stations, including TV Leskovac. An edition of the weekly Svedok was
confiscated because it carried an interview with Milorad Lukovic
Legija, an organized crime figure on the run after he was accused of
masterminding the plot to murder Djindjic.
STIFF FINES
Lawsuits were filed against journalists of the popular tabloid Vecernje
Novosti and the independent television-radio station B-92. One of
Popovic's libel suits, against Zeljko Cvijanovic, the editor of the
weekly Blic News, was based on an article published 11 months earlier
and resulted in a 50,000 dinar ($900) fine on May 30.
That may seem small, but in a country where the average income is about
$100 a month, it is hefty.
Cvijanovic quit his job, saying "it is impossible to edit Blic News in
line with the principles of free and open journalism."
One prominent journalist, Aleksandar Tijanic, responded by suing
Popovic for libel, charging that he had "linked him to a media pressure
group."
Tijanic declared: "Each and every question which is stifled by force
today will remain open forever."
Popovic's latest suit is against NIN, a respectable and nationally
prominent weekly, for "defamation of character." Filed last week, it
demands 1 million dinars for causing "emotional distress" to the
plaintiff. At issue was a question published by NIN about Popovic's
status as a government employee after Djindjic distanced himself from
Popovic. In April that same question, posed by Gordana Susa, a TV
reporter,
prompted Popovic to call her and threaten her.
At present there are more than 170 libel suits pending in Serbian
courts.
U.S. PRESSURE REBUFFED
According to America diplomats, Montgomery approached Prime Minister
Zoran Zivkovic in April suggesting that Popovic leave his post and was
told it would happen within 10 days. It didn't. Instead Zivkovic
inveighed repeatedly against the Serbian press, accusing journalists of
carrying their complaints to "Western embassies."
In the absence of action on the Popovic situation, Montgomery
ostentatiously visited the editorial offices of NIN on Tuesday to offer
what its journalists interpreted as his support in the defamation case.
The ugliness of the situation has reached the point where some
observers are comparing it to the Milosevic period and even to the
Communist era of Josip Broz Tito. Zivkovic appears to have grasped that.
In an interview this week he declared: "As head of government I don't
want such a battle with the media." Branislav Lecic, his minister of
culture and media, has begun meetings with a group of Serbian editors
to hear their objections to the new
information law and to see if a compromise can be reached.
David Binder has covered the Balkans for four decades.
=== 11 ===
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK
http://www.b92.net/english/news/index.php?nav_id=23651&style=headlines
B92 - July 10, 2003
Serbia prepares ground for oil privitisation
BELGRADE -- Wednesday – The Serbian government is to
dismiss tomorrow the acting manager of the national oil company,
apparently smoothing the path to privatization, B92 learnt today from a
government source.
Asked if the information was correct, Serbia’s energy
minister said that her ministry had proposed new
legislation by which the general manager of Serbian
Oil Industries (NIS) would be appointed by the
government, rather than parliament. Kori Udovicki
confirmed that the acting manager could be dismissed
in the event the law gets bogged down in parliament.
Jelica Putnikovic, a journalist with Frankfurt
Serbian-language daily Vesti, said that though
Dimitrije Vukcevic was coming to end of his tenure,
the dismissal coincided with the start of
privatization proceedings. “Obviously they want to
have a man they can cooperate with, since there have
been many unofficial indications that Vukcevic was not
always loyal.”
Vukcevic told B92 he had yet to be informed he is out
of a job. Unofficial sources suggest he will be
replaced by Pavle Vuckovic, the current director of
Energoprojekt.
=== 12 ===
FINANCIAL TIMES (UK)
From: "decani3"
To: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
A. River traffic falls as users get Danube blues
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/
FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1057562528506
River traffic falls as users get Danube blues
By Robert Wright
Published: July 18 2003 5:00 | Last Updated: July 18 2003 5:00
The three barges makean impressive sight as they nose down the Danube
in the Serbian city of Novi Sad, strapped abreast of each other.
The tug pushing them positions itself carefully, then takes its
load past the imposing Petrovaradin citadel and through a gap in a
makeshift pontoon bridge. They race on towards a bend in the river,
pushed by a powerful current.
The barges are as impressive for the surprising confidence they
represent in transport on the Danube as for their size; their decks are
loaded with new cars - the kind of high-value cargo the Danube has
previously struggled to attract.
Yet many other users have given up on freight transport on
Europe's second-longest river. According to the Danube Commission,
which governs many of the river's affairs, only 7 per cent of the
river's carrying capacity is in use, against about 72 per cent for the
Rhine, Europe's busiest river.
Traffic on the river reached its peak at 91m tonnes of cargo in
1987, when most countries on the Danube were part of the Comecon
trading bloc of communist countries. By 1998, the last year for which
full figures are available, the figure was just 30m tonnes, even before
the problems of the Kosovo war.
A visit to Novi Sad, capital of Serbia's northern province of
Vojvodina, shows why the river is still struggling to recover.
A European Union-funded project, which finished on June 16, saw the
river cleared of wreckage and unexploded bombs left over from
destruction of the city's three Danube bridges by Nato forces in the
1999 Kosovo war.
But the pontoon bridge - a floating replacement for one of the
destroyed bridges - is open only three nights a week, soon to rise to
four, and vessels must pay to pass through. A poorly placed temporary
replacement railway bridge also causes problems for some vessels.
On top of that the Serbian government last month started requiring
vessels with high-value cargoes to obtain substantial customs
guarantees before passing through the river's Serbian section.
The decision brought almost a complete halt to cargo shipments on the
river for more than three weeks. It was finally withdrawn later in the
month under strong international pressure.
The affair has added to frustration among the Danube's users after a
series of problems during the 1990s caused by Croatia's war of
independence and international sanctions against Serbia.
The frustration has been exacerbated this year by unusually low water
levels resulting from drought across much of Hungary, Croatia and
Serbia. The river has become impassable at several points.
"People are very concerned about what will happen next," says
Edgar Martin of Danube-research.com, a UK-based consultancy. "People
are worried about what the next tax or customs fee or something will
be."
Nor is there much immediate prospect of an improvement in conditions.
Environmental objections have prevented the dredging of some of the
river's shallowest sections, particularly in Bavaria. In Novi Sad,
meanwhile, Milan Jazic, who handles Danube matters for the city
council, says the city continues to need the pontoon bridge as well as
a makeshift fixed road bridge hastily erected in 2000.
The pontoon bridge will be removed only when the Most Slobode (Freedom
Bridge) - an eight-lane suspension bridge - is reopened. The €40m
($45m, £28m) bridge reconstruction, funded mainly by the European
Union, is due to be finished in December 2004.
But flooding last summer and a cold winter have delayed work,
leaving contractors struggling to meet the deadline.
The car-carrying barges show, however, that the Danube's
substantial cost advantages over rail and road alternatives remain
powerful incentives. The EU-funded clearing of the river at Novi Sad
has also made traffic easier, partly because it has reduced the risk
for vessels' insurers.
More frequent opening of the bridge and a lower fee for passing through
it have helped to stimulate traffic.
Danail Nedialkov, director-general of the Danube Commission's
secretariat, says 2,338 vessels passed through the bridge in the second
quarter of this year, up from 1,607 in the first period and 5,424 in
the whole of last year.
Yet there remains growing frustration on all sides at the slow
pace of improvement.
"It's just not providing a reliable service at the moment," Mr
Martin of Danube-research.com says of the river. "These [problems] need
to be dealt with urgently, then it will provide cheap, environmentally
friendly transport."
B. Walk-out at central bank strips Serbia of top economic talent
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/
FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1057562562347
Walk-out at central bank strips Serbia of top economic talent
By Eric Jansson in Belgrade
Published: July 19 2003 5:00 | Last Updated: July 19 2003 5:00
Serbia's senior central bankers resigned en masse yesterday,
protesting against controversial central bank reforms approved by
parliament.
The resignations of governor Mladjan Dinkic, two of the bank's
three vice-governors and several department chiefs strip Serbia's
leadership of some of its top economic talent.
Radovan Jelasic, one of the resigning vice-governors, said he and Mr
Dinkic would continue working at the bank only until "a regular
handover can be arranged". One vice-governor, Vesna Arsic, retains her
post.
Mr Dinkic and his team are credited with pushing through tough banking
reforms, taming Serbia's once-soaring inflation rate and finding ways
for Serbs to reclaim foreign funds frozen under the former regime of
Slobodan Milosevic.
But they fell foul of Zoran Zivkovic, the prime minister, and
government ministers this year after Mr Dinkic's private think-tank,
G17, converted itself into a political party sometimes critical of
government policy.
Especially tough criticism was reserved for the new reforms
approved yesterday by parliament. Mr Dinkic says that the legislation
undermines the central bank's independence by giving MPs the power to
both nominate and appoint top bank officials. Government officials say
the bank's independence is not threatened.
Ministers say the bill was drafted originally as a matter of
housekeeping, as the central bank is being transformed into a solely
Serbian institution, following the formal dissolution of Yugoslavia
five months ago.
Ministers also say the bank governor deserves credit for carrying out
some of Serbia's most important reforms to date.
But Mr Jelasic says the bank's achievements have provoked
suspicion and jealousy among ministers whose popularity is flagging.
Mr Dinkic had already taken pre-emptive action against his removal by
trying to undermine the government with allegations of corruption among
senior government officials.
Prosecutors demanded this week that he present evidence. Mr Dinkic
replied that it had already been handed to police but was being ignored.
Whatever becomes of Mr Dinkic's allegations, which have been
reported widely in Belgrade's newspapers, rifts between Serbia's
reformers are clearly growing rather than healing since Zoran Djindjic,
the former prime minister, was murdered in March.
=== 13 ===
THREE WAZ TOP MANAGERS TO HEAD POLITIKA
BELGRADE,July 18 (Beta)-WAZ executive director Bodo
Hombach is the new president of the managing board of
the Politika Newspapers & Magazines company, founded
last year by the Belgradebased Politika company and
this German newspaper concern.
Politika GM Mirko Djekic told BETA on July 18 that one
of the WAZ biggest shareholders, Luc Gland, and the
chief financial auditor of the concern, Markus
Bergman, were also appointed members of the Politika
managing board.
According to Djekic, the branches of this joint
ownership company will be opened in Podgorica, Novi
Sad and possibly some other towns in former
Yugoslavia, which will act as headquarters of the
existing, but also of new publications.
The managing board members, in addition to three WAZ
representatives, also include the Komercijalna Banka
chairman and the president of the Politika managing
board Ljubomir Mihajlovic, lawyer Strahinja
Kastratovic and Politika daily GM and editor in chief
Darko Ribnikar.
=== 14 ===
SERBIAN PREMIER VISITS USA:
A. ZIVKOVIC FOR STRONGER TIES BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND BELGRADE
LONDON, July 25 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister
Zoran Zivkovic has said the objective of his visit to
the United States is to deepen political dialogue and
promote cooperation between Washington and Belgrade.
This means there were no numbers, dates, or other such
things that people usually expect from such meetings.
This is the strengthening of political ties between
the two states and the objective is to persuade the
United States that Serbia can be a good partner in the
Balkans, while the other objective is to find a good
ally for all the tribulations in store at the
beginning of the 21st century, the prime minister said
in an interview to BBC Radio.
Asked about the predominant topic during his talks
with Secretary of State Colin Powell and national
security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Zivkovic said it
was their support to reforms and what has been done
through them in the past two and a half years,
especially in the past few months, the fight against
crime, and the state's stand on The Hague
international tribunal.
Talks also covered the participation of Serbian
companies in the reconstruction of Iraq and
possibilities for Serbia's business returning to the
United States, and a contract on normal trade
relations - the bill that has been tied up in the
Senate for quote some time, Zivkovic said.
B. POWELL PRAISES SERBIAN, SCG GOVERNMENTS AND BACKS REFORMIST COURSE
WASHINGTON, July 25 (Tanjug) - United States Secretary
of State Colin Powell has praised Serbian Prime
Minister Zoran Zivkovic and Serbia and Montenegro
Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic for their resolve to
continue implementing political and economic reforms,
and for the support received from citizens following
the March assassination of Serbian prime minister
Zoran Djindjic.
Powell thanked the visiting ranking officials for the
good cooperation with Serbia in fighting terrorism,
and other issues of mutual interest when they were
leaving the State Department late Thursday afternoon
local time.
The talks were an opportunity for the US side to
express its constant support to the democratic reform
processes taking place in Serbia and Montenegro, a
State Department source told Tanjug.
Powell expressed the strong US support to the process
of SCG integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions,
and stressed support to general stability and progress
in that country, the source said.
C. ZIVKOVIC ON TALKS WITH PIERRE RICHARD PROSPER
WASHINGTON, July 24 (Beta) - Serbian Premier Zoran
Zivkovic said on July 24 that U.S. ambassador for war
crimes Pierre Richard Prosper was convinced that
Belgrade authorities were "adequately cooperating"
with the International Criminal Tribunal for the
Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
"What Prosper said about our cooperation a few weeks
ago has been confirmed. He is convinced that we are
cooperating adequately with the ICTY and that is
true," Zivkovic told BETA in a telephone conversation,
after meeting Prosper in Washington.
Zivkovic is leading a joint delegation comprising
representatives of the Serbian and SerbianMontenegrin
governments.
Zivkovic and Prosper agreed that former Bosnian Serb
army commander Ratko Mladic "is the only indictee
particularly interesting to the ICTY and the U.S." "I
have repeated our opinion that Mladic's arrest is a
technical issue, meaning that if he is on our
territory he will be arrested, if not then there is
nothing we can do," Zivkovic said.
According to Zivkovic, one of the topics of
conversation was also the war crimes tribunal recently
formed in Serbia, which is due to start operating
soon.
The delegation is scheduled to hold talks with U.S.
Secretary of State Colin Powell and U.S. president's
national security adviser Condoleezza Rice in the late
evening hours (CET) of July 24.
D. ZIVKOVIC AND SVILANOVIC MEET CONGRESSMEN IN WASHINGTON
WASHINGTON, July 25 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister
Zoran Zivkovic and Serbia and Montenegro Foreign
Minister Goran Svilanovic will confer with prominent
congressmen in Washington on Friday, the second day of
their official visit to the United States, and they
will later also meet with editors and reporters of The
Washington Post, and attend a meeting at the Heritage
Foundation.
Zivkovic and Svilanovic first met with Congressman
Rahm Emanuel, the author of a resolution passed by the
House of Representatives paying tribute to recently
assassinated Serbian prime minister Zoran Djindjic.
The resolution said Djindjic was the chief organizer
and strategist of the opposition platform for the
presidential elections in Yugoslavia on Sept 24, 2000,
and the subsequent popular revolt on Oct 5, which led
to the ousting of Slobodan Milosevic and his
subsequent extradition to The Hague tribunal.
Today, the Serbian and SCG delegation will meet with
Congressman Pete Sessions, a great advocate of the
normalization of trade relations between the US and
SCG.
This evening, the delegation will meet with former US
ambassador to Yugoslavia Lawrence Eagleberger.
E. US CONGRESS INCREASES AID FOR SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO TO 135 ML DLRS
WASHINGTON, July 25 (Tanjug) - The United States
Congress House of Representatives has decided to raise
the planned 95 million dollar aid for Serbia to 100
million and the planned 18 million for Montenegro to
35 million, as support to fighting organized crime
there, Tanjug learned on Thursday.
Serbia has to meet certain conditions before receiving
this aid, mostly in connection with cooperation with
The Hague tribunal, ending support to Republika Srpska
and respect of human rights and laws.
The House on Wednesday passed legislature on the
distribution of funds abroad, financing exports, and
similar programs, worth 17 billion dollars, for the
coming fiscal year which begins on Oct 1 and ends on
Sept 30 next year.
F. Zivkovic: Belgrade, Washington Becoming Allies
BELGRADE, July 27 (BETA) - Relations between
Washington and Belgrade are becoming those of two
allies, Serbian Premier Zoran Zivkovic explained on
Saturday, while on a visit to U.S.
At a news conference following a meeting with U.S.
Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security
Adviser Condoleezza Rice, Zivkovic said he hoped the
U.S. would back Serbia-Montenegro's integration in
European and transatlantic institutions.
Zivkovic added that relations between the two
countries were at a 50-year high. "My goal and that of
my cabinet is to use these good relations in the
temptations that we will face, both at home and in the
region."
He expressed the hope that Serbia-Montenegro would
become a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace this
winter, "late this year or early next year."
In addition, Zivkovic said he expected U.S. support
for the union's European and Euroatlantic integration.
"We will have the U.S. there as an ally. There are
some conditions, some of which have existed for quite
some time -- the extradition of war crimes suspects
charged by the Hague Tribunal -- but given the speed
of the talks and the atmosphere it is clear that they
are not major conditions."
"The political dilemma of whether to arrest and
extradite Mladic does not exist... the only question
is if he is in our territory. By the end of the year
we will either find Mladic, arrest him, and extradite
him to The Hague or we will find a way to prove he is
not in our territory."
Commenting on a U.S. request for a treaty on the
non-extradition of U.S. citizens to the International
Criminal Court, Zivkovic stressed that
Serbia-Montenegro was in a special position.
"On the one hand Serbia-Montenegro is being asked to
extradite its own citizens to the Hague Tribunal, and
on the other we are being asked to sign a
non-extradition treaty with the U.S."
"This is not about choosing between the EU and U.S.,
but an internal issue. We hope that Washington will
understand our predicament," said Zivkovic.
http://www.beta.co.yu/eng/
BETA: Daily News Internet
July 28, 2003
G. ZIVKOVIC:US SECRETARY OF STATE PROMISED PARTICIPATION OF SERBIAN
COMPANIES IN IRAQ'S RECONSTRUCTION
WASHINGTON, Jul 26 (Tanjug) - Serbian Premier Zoran
Zivkovic has said in Washington that he had been
assured by US Secretary of State Colin Powell during
the latter's visit to Belgrade last March that Serbian
companies will be able to take part in Iraq's
reconstruction, and that Powell reiterated this
assurance when he conferred with Zivkovic Thursday.
Zivkovic told the press Friday evening that he had
informed Powell that he would cite this assurance in
his forthcoming talks with representatives of US
companies taking part in Iraq's reconstruction during
his current visit to the US, and that Powell gave his
approval.
Zivkovic said he and his delegation would confer with
executives of the leading US construction company
operating in Iraq on the participation of Serbian
companies in projects in Iraq, as well as on the US
company's participation in infrastructure projects in
Serbia. Zivkovic added he expects US companies to
intensify their presence in Serbia through the
privatization process and new investments in the
coming months.
H. SERBIAN PREMIER: CASE OF FORMER BOSNIAN SERB LEADER TO BE CLOSED BY
END OF YEAR
WASHINGTON, Jul 26 (Tanjug) - Serbian Premier Zoran
Zivkovic has said in Washington that agreement has
been reached with US officials that former Republika
Srpska army commander Ratko Mladic must be arrested by
the end of this year if he is in Serbia, or that proof
must be presented that he is not there.
At a press briefing Friday evening, the second day of
his visit to the US, Zivkovic ruled out the
participation of any third party in a possible arrest
operation, for which modalities are being worked out.
People more important than Mladic have been arrested
in Serbia, and there is therefore no need or legal
possibility of proceeding in a different manner in his
case, Zivkovic said, noting that there is no reliable
evidence at present on Mladic's presence in Serbia's
territory.
Cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal is an
international commitment of Serbia-Montenegro (SCG),
and also a commitment in line with domestic law,
Zivkovic said, adding that arresting all indictees
found in Serbia's territory is only a technical issue.
US OFFICIAL SAYS RESPONSIBILITY FOR ARRESTING FORMER BOSNIAN SERB
COMMANDER LIES WITH SERBIAN GOVERNMENT
WASHINGTON, Jul 25 (Tanjug) - The State Department
ambassador-at-large for War Crimes Issues
Pierre-Richard Prosper told Tanjug Friday that the
greatest responsibility for arresting former Bosnian
Serb army commander Ratko Mladic lies with the Serbian
government.
The US believes that the Serbian government has the
responsibility, as well as technical and human
potentials to search its own territory, Prosper said.
Available information indicate that there is no reason
to believe that Mladic is not in Serbia. Search for
Mladic must be carried out in Serbia, he explained.
Secretary of State Colin Powell and US president's
Advisor for National Security Condoleezza Rice also
made this clear Thursday to Serbian Premier Zoran
Zivkovic and Serbia-Montenegro (SCG) Foreign Minister
Goran Svilanovic, Prosper said.
I. ZIVKOVIC ALL SMILES AFTER US VISIT
NEW YORK,July 30 (B92,VOA)- Serbia's prime minister
has hailed his visit to the US as a sign that good
relations between the two countries have been fully
restored.
"Relations between Serbia and the US are at a very
high level", Zoran Zivkovic told B92 at the end of a
week-long trip to the States. "All talks were between
partners of different size, wealth and power, but not
in terms of how they look on the real situation in
Serbia and the US."
Speaking to Voice of America last night, the premier
said that "after a long time we can now say that, when
we are speaking with an official, we can be certain
that he believes what we are saying, that he shares
our visions and that he is ready to help resolve our
problems".
He dismissed speculation that the Belgrade delegation
had come under pressure regarding the fractious
political situation in Serbia and the worsening plight
of the independent media during discussions with US
officials.
The prime minister said that "exclusively for B92" he
could list the issues not addressed: "They were:
corruption, the situation in the governing coalition,
the Democratic Party and relations between the
government and media. These are the issues that
weren't addressed during these seven days, and that
shouldn't surprise anyone. Those who awaited this
visit with malice and a desire for it to be just
another way of putting pressure on the Serbian
government must be disappointed."
Zivkovic added that he expected Congress to adopt
legislation on the resumption of normal trade
relations with Serbia by early autumn.
=== 15 ===
CONTINUING DROUGHT COULD SPELL DISASTER
BELGRADE,July 28 (Beta)-Andjelka Mihajlov, Serbian
Minister for the Protection of Natural Resources and
the Environment, today announced that river currents
have this month dropped to minimum levels; with the
Danube falling to its absolute minimum at Bezdan,
which was never recorded throughout the entire 20th
century.
Speaking at a joint session of the Serbian
Parliament's Environment Protection Committee and
Agriculture and Water Committee, Mihajlov explained
that annual minimums are not usually reached until
September or October and thus this year's drought
could dramatically worsen if rain does not fall and
adequate measures are not applied.
One such protective measure, according to Mihajlov,
should be the increase in pollution control, as low
water levels contribute to industrial and urban waste
pollution by concentrating poisonous elements.
Srdja Popovic, environmental advisor to PM Zoran
Zivkovic, noted that the extremes of climate, which
caused flooding in Serbia this time last year, are
triggered by global climate changes.
Agriculture Minister Stojan Jeftic said that the state
has already contacted neighboring countries and
requested that accumulated water be re-directed to
rivers flowing through Serbia in an effort to raise
the water level. However, the entire region is
suffering drought and the responses were negative.
The parliamentary committees are to organize urgent
analysis of the worst affected areas before they
re-convene at another joint session in a month's time.
=== 16 ===
Da: Rick Rozoff
Data: Mer 30 Lug 2003 18:20:00 Europe/Rome
Oggetto: US-NATO Orders: Serbian Military Purges To Escalate
[Note: Serbia-Montenegro 'President' Zoran Zivkovic
has just returned from Washington.]
http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2003/07/4-SEE/see-300703.asp
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty - July 30, 2003
SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO BEGINS MILITARY SHAKE-UP
-[Defense Minister] Tadic went on to Jerusalem, where
he began a three-day visit to discuss military
cooperation with Israeli government officials.
Members of Serbia and Montenegro's Supreme Defense
Council agreed in Meljine near Herceg Novi on 29 July
to accept Defense Ministry proposals to sack an
unspecified number of officers, whose names will be
made public "in 10 days' time," RFE/RL's South Slavic
and Albanian Languages Service reported. Belgrade
media suggest that one man on the list is military
intelligence chief General Radoslav Skoric, who was
allegedly sacked for keeping "too close" ties to the
Bosnian Serb military. In related news, Defense
Minister Boris Tadic and Montenegrin Prime Minister
Milo Djukanovic signed an agreement providing for
Montenegrin police to take over control of
Montenegro's borders from the military. Tadic went on
to Jerusalem, where he began a three-day visit to
discuss military cooperation with Israeli government
officials. PM
http://www.makfax.com.mk/news1-a.asp?br=46227
MakFax (Macedonia) - July 30, 2003
SCG: Chief of Military Intelligence dismissed
The Supreme Defense Council of Serbia & Montenegro has
put a number of military chiefs on retirement list,
including the Head of Military Intelligence, Radoslav
Shkoric, said Belgrade’s media.
Sources close to top military officials say Shkoric
was pushing for close co-operation with the Army of
Republika Srpska.
This is a second shift of commanding structures in
military intelligence following the assassination of
Serbia’s PM Zoran Djindjic. The Head of National
Security, General Aca Tomic was replaced and kept in
custody in the aftermath of Djindjic’s assassination.
---
TADIC: POSSIBLE MILITARY COOPERATION WITH ISRAEL
TEL AVIV,July 30 (Beta)-Serbia&Montenegro Defense
Minister Boris Tadic said on July 30 that he had
talked with senior managers of the Izreali military
and aircraft industry about possible modes of
cooperation and that there was a possibility of
reaching an agreement.
Tadic told BETA in a telephone conversation that the
projects included a certain type of automatic rifle
produced by Serbia&Montenegro and unmanned aerial
vehicles.
Tadic said that these vehicles had important software
components, which could be produced in Serbia and
Montenegro. He added that they had also considered the
possibility of modernizing Russianmade helicopters,
which are commonly used in Serbia&Montenegro and the
neighboring countries.
Tadic, who is on a threeday visit to Israel, said that
an expert meeting had been scheduled, to discuss the
possibility of reaching an agreement with the Isreali
aircraft industry on one of these projects.
He said that he had talked with Izreali Prime Minister
Shimon Perez about the peace process in the Middle
East and the Balkans and the solutions that could be
applied in both cases.
=== 17 ===
LUKOVAC SAYS BOTH SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO SHOULD BE INDEPENDENT
PODGORICA, July 29 (Tanjug) - Serbia-Montenegro
Minister of International Economic Relations Branko
Lukovac on Tuesday reiterated that the state union
members would fare better if they were independent
states.
Stressing he believed that Serbia and Montenegro
"should be equal with all other European states,"
Lukovac said that "what has been done with the Action
Plan is an outstanding achievement, freeing us of
barriers that we will build some borders among
ourselves and place new obstacles." "In this document,
we succeeded in including the best values of the EU
members ensuring a free flow of people, goods and
capital, so that we removed fear that this might
affect the mutual relations of Serbia and Montenegro
in any form of their existence, either as a community
or as independent states," Lukovac told Radio Free
Europe. According to him, now that Serbia and
Montenegro have taken European standards and built
good relations and strong ties on the EU model, one
may say that it is senseless for states with full
economic responsibilities not to have their voice and
clear status in the international community. "There is
no reason for international community's fear that good
relations between Serbia and Montenegro may be
jeopardized by a change in their state and legal
status and they will be preserved the best if
everyone's right to decide on oneself is recognized,"
Lukovac said.
7.
A) Serbian Regime Passes Sweeping Law To Purge Former
Officials From All Government, Public, Media Positions
B) Last US Sanctions Lifted As Serbia And Montenegro
'Integrate Into International Community'
C) German Businesses To Invest In Serbia
8.
Serbia: Workers' protests held in Nis, Kragujevac
9.
58 COMPANIES IN SERBIA PRIVATIZED IN APRIL; PROPERTY OF PRIVATIZED
ENTERPRISES WILL BE PROTECTED, VLAHOVIC
10.
Free press under fire in Serbia (by David Binder)
11.
Serbia prepares ground for oil privitisation
12.
Financial Times:
A) River traffic falls as users get Danube blues
B) Walk-out at central bank strips Serbia of top economic talent
13.
THREE WAZ [GERMAN] TOP MANAGERS TO HEAD POLITIKA
14. SERBIAN PREMIER VISITS USA:
A. ZIVKOVIC FOR STRONGER TIES BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND BELGRADE
B. POWELL PRAISES SERBIAN, SCG GOVERNMENTS AND BACKS REFORMIST COURSE
C. ZIVKOVIC ON TALKS WITH PIERRE RICHARD PROSPER
D. ZIVKOVIC AND SVILANOVIC MEET CONGRESSMEN IN WASHINGTON
E. US CONGRESS INCREASES AID TO 135 ML DLRS ["AGAINST ORGANIZED CRIME"]
F. Zivkovic: Belgrade, Washington Becoming Allies
G. ZIVKOVIC:US SECRETARY OF STATE PROMISED PARTICIPATION OF SERBIAN
COMPANIES IN IRAQ'S RECONSTRUCTION
H. SERBIAN PREMIER: CASE OF FORMER BOSNIAN SERB LEADER [MLADIC] TO BE
CLOSED BY END OF YEAR
I. ZIVKOVIC ALL SMILES AFTER US VISIT
15.
CONTINUING DROUGHT COULD SPELL DISASTER
16. SERBIAN MILITARY PURGES TO ESCALATE:
SCG BEGINS MILITARY SHAKE-UP; Chief of Military Intelligence dismissed;
TADIC: POSSIBLE MILITARY COOPERATION WITH ISRAEL
17.
[Serbia-Montenegro Minister of International Economic Relations Branko]
LUKOVAC SAYS BOTH SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO SHOULD BE INDEPENDENT
=== 7 ===
Da: kiosk
Data: Mar 3 Giu 2003 11:49:30 Europe/Rome
A: anti-imperialiste@...
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK
A) Serbian Regime Passes Sweeping Law To Purge Former
Officials From All Government, Public, Media Positions
B) Last US Sanctions Lifted As Serbia And Montenegro
'Integrate Into International Community'
C) German Businesses To Invest In Serbia
A.
http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2003/06/4-SEE/see-020603.asp
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty- June 2, 2003
SERBIA PASSES SWEEPING LUSTRATION LAW
The Serbian parliament approved a lustration law on 30
May which, if strictly enforced, could prove one of
the toughest measures in postcommunist Europe aimed at
excluding former officials and their supporters from
political power, university life, the security forces,
and the media, RFE/RL reported. PM
B.
http://www.seeurope.net/en/Story.php?StoryID=40794&LangID=1
Seeurope.net - June 2, 2003
Last US Sanctions Lifted
The latest decision by US President George Bush spells
the official end of US sanctions against Serbia-Montenegro, a US
Treasury representatives said Saturday.
Taylor Gorfin told media that the sanctions had been lifted gradually
and no more now remained.
Bush’s decision to lift national emergency orders
against Belgrade was another positive signal of
support for Serbia-Montenegro’s integration into the
[inter]national community, said Belgrade’s ambassador
to Washington, Ivan Vujicic, reported radio B92.
Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic told Belgrade’s
BK Television that he expected that US Secretary of
State Colin Powell would certify further financial
support for Serbia-Montenegro by June 15.
He described US financial assistance as significant,
but added that it was even more important that the US
now had no further political demands.
C.
http://www.serbia.sr.gov.yu/news/2003-06/02/329470.html
Serbia Info - June 2, 2003
German businesses to invest in Serbia
Belgrade, June 2, 2003 - Serbian Deputy Minister of
Transport and Telecommunications Miodrag Jocic said
Monday that Germany has announced a €30 million aid
package for Serbia's traffic infrastructure
development. At the opening of a forum gathering
entrepreneurs from Serbia and the North
Rhine-Westphalia province of Germany at Belgrade's
Hotel Hyatt, Jocic said that the aim of the conference
is to attract German investors to invest in Serbia's
transport, energy and mining, construction, and
spatial planning sectors.
Joerg Hennerkes, the Secretary of North
Rhine-Westphalia's Transport Ministry, said that
German businessmen should get as much information as
possible about prospective forms of cooperation in
these fields.
German Ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro Kurt
Leonberger said that Serbia has created a stable
political framework for foreign investment.
Another field in which Serbia needs a partner is air
transport. Deputy Minister of Transport and
Telecommunications Dragoljub Trgovcevic said that
cooperation is necessary for the building of a "cargo
centre" at Belgrade Airport.
Trgovcevic stressed that the airport has a very
favourable position which can provide the cheapest and
quickest transport of goods from the east to Europe.
He added that an airport modernisation project has
been prepared, and that total investment amounts to
some million.
Of the total amount, the European Investment Bank and
the Airport have provided million. Trgovcevic said
that tenders have been called for the modernisation of
the two existing passenger terminals, announcing that
the works should begin in February 2004.
=== 8 ===
Subj:[yugoslaviainfo] [Central] Serbia: Workers' protests held in Nis,
Kragujevac
Date:6/19/03 7:19:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From:p-tosic
To:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Sent from the Internet
[ The word 'Nezavisnost' means 'Independence' in Serbian. Trade union
'Nezavisnost' is one of the largest such organizations of industrial
workers in Serbia. ]
Serbia: Workers' protests held in Nis, Kragujevac
June 18, 2003 7:18pm
site on 18 June
Kragujevac, Nis: Thousands of workers protested today in front of the
town hall in the central Serbian city of Kragujevac. The demonstrators
were demanding dismissal of the Serbian government, full employment and
the establishment of a social dialogue.
Addressing the protesters, the leader of the Alliance of Independent
Unions of Serbia, Milenko Smiljanic, said that Serbia was on its knees
and the workers in the streets, adding that the situation could no
longer be tolerated. "When they ask me what the privatization process
will be like I tell them it will be slow, because many of those taking
part will end up in
jail," said Smiljanic.
The majority of employees from state-owned companies in Kragujevac
joined the demonstration, together with workers from other large
centres in the region.
Thousands of workers also took to the streets in the southern Serbian
city of Nis today, demanding that the Serbian government take steps
"for the salvation of Serbia's workers and economy". The Nezavisnost
Union, which organized the demonstration, has called its members to
rally in Belgrade on
25 June. Union leader Miodrag Randjelovic denied claims that the
demonstration was politically motivated, describing it as a
socio-economic protest. "We will not allow one more worker to be left
without a job or out on the street. We urge the government to come to
its senses," said Randjelovic, warning that the union would call for
the dismissal of the government and extraordinary parliamentary
elections.
Organizers claimed the workers came from more than a dozen towns and
cities throughout Serbia.
Source: Radio B92 text web site, Belgrade, in English 1850 gmt 18 Jun 03
=== 9 ===
58 COMPANIES IN SERBIA PRIVATIZED IN APRIL
BELGRADE, June 18 (Beta) - The director of the Serbian Privatization
Agency, Mirko Cvetkovic, stated on Wednesday that 58 companies were
sold in April, out of the 100 that have been offered for sale.
"Out of the total number of sold companies, two were sold at
tenders, 49 at auctions, and seven on the capital market," Cvetkovic
said at the session of the Serbian Legislature's Privatization
Committee.
He said that 7,214 workers were employed by these companies.
Cvetkovic announced an increase in sales in June, explaining
that 80 auctions have been scheduled, and that the sale of companies
dropped in May because they were busy with closing accounts.
PROPERTY OF PRIVATIZED ENTERPRISES WILL BE PROTECTED, VLAHOVIC
BELGRADE, July 22 (Tanjug) - The Serbian Ministry of
Economy and Privatization, in cooperation with other
ministries, will protect the private property of
privatized enterprises in the same way as it does with
other private companies in view of the fact that the
ownership transformation is aimed at building a more
efficient economy in which private property would
prevail, Minister Aleksandar Vlahovic said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a meeting on the protection of private
property interests in the post-privatization process
at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
Vlahovic said that enterprises could not be
restructured of privatized without partnership between
the Privatization Agency, trade union, state and
business associations.
Generally speaking, new owners encounter no problems
when they take over enterprises, although there are
exceptions, Vlahovic said and announced the adoption
of a law on denationalization by the end of the year,
under which original owners of enterprises would
receive financial compensation.
The state has obligations towards the original owners,
rather than the new owners, and the state allocates
five percent of privatization income for financial
compensation, he said.
President of the League for Property Protection
Slavenko Grgurevic said that the key problem lay in
the fact that the minister was urging the protection
of private property after privatization.
Original owners will sue the state and demand the
realization of their rights through the Council of
Europe, i.e. court at Strasbourg, Grgurevic said.
=== 10 ===
http://www.msnbc.com/news/931485.asp
Free press under fire in Serbia
U.S. protests new pressures on media
After the March assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, whose
death was mourned by tens of thousands, Serbia's new government has
targeted the country's independent media.
By David Binder
SPECIAL TO MSNBC
WASHINGTON, June 26 - Little noticed outside the country, the Serbian
government's crackdown on organized crime after the March 12
assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic has included repeated
attacks on the independent press. Newspapers have been closed,
journalists have been fined exorbitantly for alleged libel of
government officials by compliant courts and the media have accused the
government of censorship. The moves have drawn criticism from U.S. and
European officials, apparently to little avail. But that may be
changing.
IN ADDITION, the Serbian government has packed the nine-member state
Broadcasting Agency Council with its supporters including at least one
of questionable origin.
These actions have prompted protests and expressions of concern by U.S.
Ambassador William Montgomery, Ian Willem Blankert of the European
Commission and international press organizations such as the New
York-based Committee to
Protect Journalists. Yet until now, there has been no outcry from the
general public in Serbia.
The chief villain in the eyes of Serbian journalists is Vladimir "Baby"
Popovic, a flamboyant figure who is currently head of the coalition
government's Office of Communications.
Popovic, 44, has had a meteoric career, starting as a "brilliant"
accordion player, according those who know him, and working in Belgrade
as a hotel waiter, a maitre d? and then a budding businessman. His
marketing firm, Spektra, brought him into
contact with Zoran Djindjic and other politicians who helped topple
President Slobodan Milosevic three years ago. He then became the
Belgrade representative of Ogilvy & Mather, the global marketing firm.
He grew wealthy, bought apartments in several countries, collected art
and was reputed to have "outstanding success with women," one Serbian
paper reported. His moniker, "Baby," apparently alludes to his youthful
face.
BACK IN GOVERNMENT
But Djindjic, apparently disturbed by Popovic's continuing business
endeavors as a government employee, got rid of him last October.
Popovic resurfaced in March after the assassination of Djindjic, when
the government declared a national state of emergency, in his former
job. During the 42-day "emergency," in which more than 10,000 citizens
were detained and 4,000 arrested, a series of harsh measures viewed as
hostile to the media were instituted.
Nacional, a sensationalist tabloid, was banned and, three weeks later,
its assets were confiscated. Another newspaper, Identitet, was also
closed down. Heavy fines were imposed on two provincial television
stations, including TV Leskovac. An edition of the weekly Svedok was
confiscated because it carried an interview with Milorad Lukovic
Legija, an organized crime figure on the run after he was accused of
masterminding the plot to murder Djindjic.
STIFF FINES
Lawsuits were filed against journalists of the popular tabloid Vecernje
Novosti and the independent television-radio station B-92. One of
Popovic's libel suits, against Zeljko Cvijanovic, the editor of the
weekly Blic News, was based on an article published 11 months earlier
and resulted in a 50,000 dinar ($900) fine on May 30.
That may seem small, but in a country where the average income is about
$100 a month, it is hefty.
Cvijanovic quit his job, saying "it is impossible to edit Blic News in
line with the principles of free and open journalism."
One prominent journalist, Aleksandar Tijanic, responded by suing
Popovic for libel, charging that he had "linked him to a media pressure
group."
Tijanic declared: "Each and every question which is stifled by force
today will remain open forever."
Popovic's latest suit is against NIN, a respectable and nationally
prominent weekly, for "defamation of character." Filed last week, it
demands 1 million dinars for causing "emotional distress" to the
plaintiff. At issue was a question published by NIN about Popovic's
status as a government employee after Djindjic distanced himself from
Popovic. In April that same question, posed by Gordana Susa, a TV
reporter,
prompted Popovic to call her and threaten her.
At present there are more than 170 libel suits pending in Serbian
courts.
U.S. PRESSURE REBUFFED
According to America diplomats, Montgomery approached Prime Minister
Zoran Zivkovic in April suggesting that Popovic leave his post and was
told it would happen within 10 days. It didn't. Instead Zivkovic
inveighed repeatedly against the Serbian press, accusing journalists of
carrying their complaints to "Western embassies."
In the absence of action on the Popovic situation, Montgomery
ostentatiously visited the editorial offices of NIN on Tuesday to offer
what its journalists interpreted as his support in the defamation case.
The ugliness of the situation has reached the point where some
observers are comparing it to the Milosevic period and even to the
Communist era of Josip Broz Tito. Zivkovic appears to have grasped that.
In an interview this week he declared: "As head of government I don't
want such a battle with the media." Branislav Lecic, his minister of
culture and media, has begun meetings with a group of Serbian editors
to hear their objections to the new
information law and to see if a compromise can be reached.
David Binder has covered the Balkans for four decades.
=== 11 ===
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK
http://www.b92.net/english/news/index.php?nav_id=23651&style=headlines
B92 - July 10, 2003
Serbia prepares ground for oil privitisation
BELGRADE -- Wednesday – The Serbian government is to
dismiss tomorrow the acting manager of the national oil company,
apparently smoothing the path to privatization, B92 learnt today from a
government source.
Asked if the information was correct, Serbia’s energy
minister said that her ministry had proposed new
legislation by which the general manager of Serbian
Oil Industries (NIS) would be appointed by the
government, rather than parliament. Kori Udovicki
confirmed that the acting manager could be dismissed
in the event the law gets bogged down in parliament.
Jelica Putnikovic, a journalist with Frankfurt
Serbian-language daily Vesti, said that though
Dimitrije Vukcevic was coming to end of his tenure,
the dismissal coincided with the start of
privatization proceedings. “Obviously they want to
have a man they can cooperate with, since there have
been many unofficial indications that Vukcevic was not
always loyal.”
Vukcevic told B92 he had yet to be informed he is out
of a job. Unofficial sources suggest he will be
replaced by Pavle Vuckovic, the current director of
Energoprojekt.
=== 12 ===
FINANCIAL TIMES (UK)
From: "decani3"
To: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
A. River traffic falls as users get Danube blues
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/
FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1057562528506
River traffic falls as users get Danube blues
By Robert Wright
Published: July 18 2003 5:00 | Last Updated: July 18 2003 5:00
The three barges makean impressive sight as they nose down the Danube
in the Serbian city of Novi Sad, strapped abreast of each other.
The tug pushing them positions itself carefully, then takes its
load past the imposing Petrovaradin citadel and through a gap in a
makeshift pontoon bridge. They race on towards a bend in the river,
pushed by a powerful current.
The barges are as impressive for the surprising confidence they
represent in transport on the Danube as for their size; their decks are
loaded with new cars - the kind of high-value cargo the Danube has
previously struggled to attract.
Yet many other users have given up on freight transport on
Europe's second-longest river. According to the Danube Commission,
which governs many of the river's affairs, only 7 per cent of the
river's carrying capacity is in use, against about 72 per cent for the
Rhine, Europe's busiest river.
Traffic on the river reached its peak at 91m tonnes of cargo in
1987, when most countries on the Danube were part of the Comecon
trading bloc of communist countries. By 1998, the last year for which
full figures are available, the figure was just 30m tonnes, even before
the problems of the Kosovo war.
A visit to Novi Sad, capital of Serbia's northern province of
Vojvodina, shows why the river is still struggling to recover.
A European Union-funded project, which finished on June 16, saw the
river cleared of wreckage and unexploded bombs left over from
destruction of the city's three Danube bridges by Nato forces in the
1999 Kosovo war.
But the pontoon bridge - a floating replacement for one of the
destroyed bridges - is open only three nights a week, soon to rise to
four, and vessels must pay to pass through. A poorly placed temporary
replacement railway bridge also causes problems for some vessels.
On top of that the Serbian government last month started requiring
vessels with high-value cargoes to obtain substantial customs
guarantees before passing through the river's Serbian section.
The decision brought almost a complete halt to cargo shipments on the
river for more than three weeks. It was finally withdrawn later in the
month under strong international pressure.
The affair has added to frustration among the Danube's users after a
series of problems during the 1990s caused by Croatia's war of
independence and international sanctions against Serbia.
The frustration has been exacerbated this year by unusually low water
levels resulting from drought across much of Hungary, Croatia and
Serbia. The river has become impassable at several points.
"People are very concerned about what will happen next," says
Edgar Martin of Danube-research.com, a UK-based consultancy. "People
are worried about what the next tax or customs fee or something will
be."
Nor is there much immediate prospect of an improvement in conditions.
Environmental objections have prevented the dredging of some of the
river's shallowest sections, particularly in Bavaria. In Novi Sad,
meanwhile, Milan Jazic, who handles Danube matters for the city
council, says the city continues to need the pontoon bridge as well as
a makeshift fixed road bridge hastily erected in 2000.
The pontoon bridge will be removed only when the Most Slobode (Freedom
Bridge) - an eight-lane suspension bridge - is reopened. The €40m
($45m, £28m) bridge reconstruction, funded mainly by the European
Union, is due to be finished in December 2004.
But flooding last summer and a cold winter have delayed work,
leaving contractors struggling to meet the deadline.
The car-carrying barges show, however, that the Danube's
substantial cost advantages over rail and road alternatives remain
powerful incentives. The EU-funded clearing of the river at Novi Sad
has also made traffic easier, partly because it has reduced the risk
for vessels' insurers.
More frequent opening of the bridge and a lower fee for passing through
it have helped to stimulate traffic.
Danail Nedialkov, director-general of the Danube Commission's
secretariat, says 2,338 vessels passed through the bridge in the second
quarter of this year, up from 1,607 in the first period and 5,424 in
the whole of last year.
Yet there remains growing frustration on all sides at the slow
pace of improvement.
"It's just not providing a reliable service at the moment," Mr
Martin of Danube-research.com says of the river. "These [problems] need
to be dealt with urgently, then it will provide cheap, environmentally
friendly transport."
B. Walk-out at central bank strips Serbia of top economic talent
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/
FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1057562562347
Walk-out at central bank strips Serbia of top economic talent
By Eric Jansson in Belgrade
Published: July 19 2003 5:00 | Last Updated: July 19 2003 5:00
Serbia's senior central bankers resigned en masse yesterday,
protesting against controversial central bank reforms approved by
parliament.
The resignations of governor Mladjan Dinkic, two of the bank's
three vice-governors and several department chiefs strip Serbia's
leadership of some of its top economic talent.
Radovan Jelasic, one of the resigning vice-governors, said he and Mr
Dinkic would continue working at the bank only until "a regular
handover can be arranged". One vice-governor, Vesna Arsic, retains her
post.
Mr Dinkic and his team are credited with pushing through tough banking
reforms, taming Serbia's once-soaring inflation rate and finding ways
for Serbs to reclaim foreign funds frozen under the former regime of
Slobodan Milosevic.
But they fell foul of Zoran Zivkovic, the prime minister, and
government ministers this year after Mr Dinkic's private think-tank,
G17, converted itself into a political party sometimes critical of
government policy.
Especially tough criticism was reserved for the new reforms
approved yesterday by parliament. Mr Dinkic says that the legislation
undermines the central bank's independence by giving MPs the power to
both nominate and appoint top bank officials. Government officials say
the bank's independence is not threatened.
Ministers say the bill was drafted originally as a matter of
housekeeping, as the central bank is being transformed into a solely
Serbian institution, following the formal dissolution of Yugoslavia
five months ago.
Ministers also say the bank governor deserves credit for carrying out
some of Serbia's most important reforms to date.
But Mr Jelasic says the bank's achievements have provoked
suspicion and jealousy among ministers whose popularity is flagging.
Mr Dinkic had already taken pre-emptive action against his removal by
trying to undermine the government with allegations of corruption among
senior government officials.
Prosecutors demanded this week that he present evidence. Mr Dinkic
replied that it had already been handed to police but was being ignored.
Whatever becomes of Mr Dinkic's allegations, which have been
reported widely in Belgrade's newspapers, rifts between Serbia's
reformers are clearly growing rather than healing since Zoran Djindjic,
the former prime minister, was murdered in March.
=== 13 ===
THREE WAZ TOP MANAGERS TO HEAD POLITIKA
BELGRADE,July 18 (Beta)-WAZ executive director Bodo
Hombach is the new president of the managing board of
the Politika Newspapers & Magazines company, founded
last year by the Belgradebased Politika company and
this German newspaper concern.
Politika GM Mirko Djekic told BETA on July 18 that one
of the WAZ biggest shareholders, Luc Gland, and the
chief financial auditor of the concern, Markus
Bergman, were also appointed members of the Politika
managing board.
According to Djekic, the branches of this joint
ownership company will be opened in Podgorica, Novi
Sad and possibly some other towns in former
Yugoslavia, which will act as headquarters of the
existing, but also of new publications.
The managing board members, in addition to three WAZ
representatives, also include the Komercijalna Banka
chairman and the president of the Politika managing
board Ljubomir Mihajlovic, lawyer Strahinja
Kastratovic and Politika daily GM and editor in chief
Darko Ribnikar.
=== 14 ===
SERBIAN PREMIER VISITS USA:
A. ZIVKOVIC FOR STRONGER TIES BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND BELGRADE
LONDON, July 25 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister
Zoran Zivkovic has said the objective of his visit to
the United States is to deepen political dialogue and
promote cooperation between Washington and Belgrade.
This means there were no numbers, dates, or other such
things that people usually expect from such meetings.
This is the strengthening of political ties between
the two states and the objective is to persuade the
United States that Serbia can be a good partner in the
Balkans, while the other objective is to find a good
ally for all the tribulations in store at the
beginning of the 21st century, the prime minister said
in an interview to BBC Radio.
Asked about the predominant topic during his talks
with Secretary of State Colin Powell and national
security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Zivkovic said it
was their support to reforms and what has been done
through them in the past two and a half years,
especially in the past few months, the fight against
crime, and the state's stand on The Hague
international tribunal.
Talks also covered the participation of Serbian
companies in the reconstruction of Iraq and
possibilities for Serbia's business returning to the
United States, and a contract on normal trade
relations - the bill that has been tied up in the
Senate for quote some time, Zivkovic said.
B. POWELL PRAISES SERBIAN, SCG GOVERNMENTS AND BACKS REFORMIST COURSE
WASHINGTON, July 25 (Tanjug) - United States Secretary
of State Colin Powell has praised Serbian Prime
Minister Zoran Zivkovic and Serbia and Montenegro
Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic for their resolve to
continue implementing political and economic reforms,
and for the support received from citizens following
the March assassination of Serbian prime minister
Zoran Djindjic.
Powell thanked the visiting ranking officials for the
good cooperation with Serbia in fighting terrorism,
and other issues of mutual interest when they were
leaving the State Department late Thursday afternoon
local time.
The talks were an opportunity for the US side to
express its constant support to the democratic reform
processes taking place in Serbia and Montenegro, a
State Department source told Tanjug.
Powell expressed the strong US support to the process
of SCG integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions,
and stressed support to general stability and progress
in that country, the source said.
C. ZIVKOVIC ON TALKS WITH PIERRE RICHARD PROSPER
WASHINGTON, July 24 (Beta) - Serbian Premier Zoran
Zivkovic said on July 24 that U.S. ambassador for war
crimes Pierre Richard Prosper was convinced that
Belgrade authorities were "adequately cooperating"
with the International Criminal Tribunal for the
Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
"What Prosper said about our cooperation a few weeks
ago has been confirmed. He is convinced that we are
cooperating adequately with the ICTY and that is
true," Zivkovic told BETA in a telephone conversation,
after meeting Prosper in Washington.
Zivkovic is leading a joint delegation comprising
representatives of the Serbian and SerbianMontenegrin
governments.
Zivkovic and Prosper agreed that former Bosnian Serb
army commander Ratko Mladic "is the only indictee
particularly interesting to the ICTY and the U.S." "I
have repeated our opinion that Mladic's arrest is a
technical issue, meaning that if he is on our
territory he will be arrested, if not then there is
nothing we can do," Zivkovic said.
According to Zivkovic, one of the topics of
conversation was also the war crimes tribunal recently
formed in Serbia, which is due to start operating
soon.
The delegation is scheduled to hold talks with U.S.
Secretary of State Colin Powell and U.S. president's
national security adviser Condoleezza Rice in the late
evening hours (CET) of July 24.
D. ZIVKOVIC AND SVILANOVIC MEET CONGRESSMEN IN WASHINGTON
WASHINGTON, July 25 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister
Zoran Zivkovic and Serbia and Montenegro Foreign
Minister Goran Svilanovic will confer with prominent
congressmen in Washington on Friday, the second day of
their official visit to the United States, and they
will later also meet with editors and reporters of The
Washington Post, and attend a meeting at the Heritage
Foundation.
Zivkovic and Svilanovic first met with Congressman
Rahm Emanuel, the author of a resolution passed by the
House of Representatives paying tribute to recently
assassinated Serbian prime minister Zoran Djindjic.
The resolution said Djindjic was the chief organizer
and strategist of the opposition platform for the
presidential elections in Yugoslavia on Sept 24, 2000,
and the subsequent popular revolt on Oct 5, which led
to the ousting of Slobodan Milosevic and his
subsequent extradition to The Hague tribunal.
Today, the Serbian and SCG delegation will meet with
Congressman Pete Sessions, a great advocate of the
normalization of trade relations between the US and
SCG.
This evening, the delegation will meet with former US
ambassador to Yugoslavia Lawrence Eagleberger.
E. US CONGRESS INCREASES AID FOR SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO TO 135 ML DLRS
WASHINGTON, July 25 (Tanjug) - The United States
Congress House of Representatives has decided to raise
the planned 95 million dollar aid for Serbia to 100
million and the planned 18 million for Montenegro to
35 million, as support to fighting organized crime
there, Tanjug learned on Thursday.
Serbia has to meet certain conditions before receiving
this aid, mostly in connection with cooperation with
The Hague tribunal, ending support to Republika Srpska
and respect of human rights and laws.
The House on Wednesday passed legislature on the
distribution of funds abroad, financing exports, and
similar programs, worth 17 billion dollars, for the
coming fiscal year which begins on Oct 1 and ends on
Sept 30 next year.
F. Zivkovic: Belgrade, Washington Becoming Allies
BELGRADE, July 27 (BETA) - Relations between
Washington and Belgrade are becoming those of two
allies, Serbian Premier Zoran Zivkovic explained on
Saturday, while on a visit to U.S.
At a news conference following a meeting with U.S.
Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security
Adviser Condoleezza Rice, Zivkovic said he hoped the
U.S. would back Serbia-Montenegro's integration in
European and transatlantic institutions.
Zivkovic added that relations between the two
countries were at a 50-year high. "My goal and that of
my cabinet is to use these good relations in the
temptations that we will face, both at home and in the
region."
He expressed the hope that Serbia-Montenegro would
become a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace this
winter, "late this year or early next year."
In addition, Zivkovic said he expected U.S. support
for the union's European and Euroatlantic integration.
"We will have the U.S. there as an ally. There are
some conditions, some of which have existed for quite
some time -- the extradition of war crimes suspects
charged by the Hague Tribunal -- but given the speed
of the talks and the atmosphere it is clear that they
are not major conditions."
"The political dilemma of whether to arrest and
extradite Mladic does not exist... the only question
is if he is in our territory. By the end of the year
we will either find Mladic, arrest him, and extradite
him to The Hague or we will find a way to prove he is
not in our territory."
Commenting on a U.S. request for a treaty on the
non-extradition of U.S. citizens to the International
Criminal Court, Zivkovic stressed that
Serbia-Montenegro was in a special position.
"On the one hand Serbia-Montenegro is being asked to
extradite its own citizens to the Hague Tribunal, and
on the other we are being asked to sign a
non-extradition treaty with the U.S."
"This is not about choosing between the EU and U.S.,
but an internal issue. We hope that Washington will
understand our predicament," said Zivkovic.
http://www.beta.co.yu/eng/
BETA: Daily News Internet
July 28, 2003
G. ZIVKOVIC:US SECRETARY OF STATE PROMISED PARTICIPATION OF SERBIAN
COMPANIES IN IRAQ'S RECONSTRUCTION
WASHINGTON, Jul 26 (Tanjug) - Serbian Premier Zoran
Zivkovic has said in Washington that he had been
assured by US Secretary of State Colin Powell during
the latter's visit to Belgrade last March that Serbian
companies will be able to take part in Iraq's
reconstruction, and that Powell reiterated this
assurance when he conferred with Zivkovic Thursday.
Zivkovic told the press Friday evening that he had
informed Powell that he would cite this assurance in
his forthcoming talks with representatives of US
companies taking part in Iraq's reconstruction during
his current visit to the US, and that Powell gave his
approval.
Zivkovic said he and his delegation would confer with
executives of the leading US construction company
operating in Iraq on the participation of Serbian
companies in projects in Iraq, as well as on the US
company's participation in infrastructure projects in
Serbia. Zivkovic added he expects US companies to
intensify their presence in Serbia through the
privatization process and new investments in the
coming months.
H. SERBIAN PREMIER: CASE OF FORMER BOSNIAN SERB LEADER TO BE CLOSED BY
END OF YEAR
WASHINGTON, Jul 26 (Tanjug) - Serbian Premier Zoran
Zivkovic has said in Washington that agreement has
been reached with US officials that former Republika
Srpska army commander Ratko Mladic must be arrested by
the end of this year if he is in Serbia, or that proof
must be presented that he is not there.
At a press briefing Friday evening, the second day of
his visit to the US, Zivkovic ruled out the
participation of any third party in a possible arrest
operation, for which modalities are being worked out.
People more important than Mladic have been arrested
in Serbia, and there is therefore no need or legal
possibility of proceeding in a different manner in his
case, Zivkovic said, noting that there is no reliable
evidence at present on Mladic's presence in Serbia's
territory.
Cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal is an
international commitment of Serbia-Montenegro (SCG),
and also a commitment in line with domestic law,
Zivkovic said, adding that arresting all indictees
found in Serbia's territory is only a technical issue.
US OFFICIAL SAYS RESPONSIBILITY FOR ARRESTING FORMER BOSNIAN SERB
COMMANDER LIES WITH SERBIAN GOVERNMENT
WASHINGTON, Jul 25 (Tanjug) - The State Department
ambassador-at-large for War Crimes Issues
Pierre-Richard Prosper told Tanjug Friday that the
greatest responsibility for arresting former Bosnian
Serb army commander Ratko Mladic lies with the Serbian
government.
The US believes that the Serbian government has the
responsibility, as well as technical and human
potentials to search its own territory, Prosper said.
Available information indicate that there is no reason
to believe that Mladic is not in Serbia. Search for
Mladic must be carried out in Serbia, he explained.
Secretary of State Colin Powell and US president's
Advisor for National Security Condoleezza Rice also
made this clear Thursday to Serbian Premier Zoran
Zivkovic and Serbia-Montenegro (SCG) Foreign Minister
Goran Svilanovic, Prosper said.
I. ZIVKOVIC ALL SMILES AFTER US VISIT
NEW YORK,July 30 (B92,VOA)- Serbia's prime minister
has hailed his visit to the US as a sign that good
relations between the two countries have been fully
restored.
"Relations between Serbia and the US are at a very
high level", Zoran Zivkovic told B92 at the end of a
week-long trip to the States. "All talks were between
partners of different size, wealth and power, but not
in terms of how they look on the real situation in
Serbia and the US."
Speaking to Voice of America last night, the premier
said that "after a long time we can now say that, when
we are speaking with an official, we can be certain
that he believes what we are saying, that he shares
our visions and that he is ready to help resolve our
problems".
He dismissed speculation that the Belgrade delegation
had come under pressure regarding the fractious
political situation in Serbia and the worsening plight
of the independent media during discussions with US
officials.
The prime minister said that "exclusively for B92" he
could list the issues not addressed: "They were:
corruption, the situation in the governing coalition,
the Democratic Party and relations between the
government and media. These are the issues that
weren't addressed during these seven days, and that
shouldn't surprise anyone. Those who awaited this
visit with malice and a desire for it to be just
another way of putting pressure on the Serbian
government must be disappointed."
Zivkovic added that he expected Congress to adopt
legislation on the resumption of normal trade
relations with Serbia by early autumn.
=== 15 ===
CONTINUING DROUGHT COULD SPELL DISASTER
BELGRADE,July 28 (Beta)-Andjelka Mihajlov, Serbian
Minister for the Protection of Natural Resources and
the Environment, today announced that river currents
have this month dropped to minimum levels; with the
Danube falling to its absolute minimum at Bezdan,
which was never recorded throughout the entire 20th
century.
Speaking at a joint session of the Serbian
Parliament's Environment Protection Committee and
Agriculture and Water Committee, Mihajlov explained
that annual minimums are not usually reached until
September or October and thus this year's drought
could dramatically worsen if rain does not fall and
adequate measures are not applied.
One such protective measure, according to Mihajlov,
should be the increase in pollution control, as low
water levels contribute to industrial and urban waste
pollution by concentrating poisonous elements.
Srdja Popovic, environmental advisor to PM Zoran
Zivkovic, noted that the extremes of climate, which
caused flooding in Serbia this time last year, are
triggered by global climate changes.
Agriculture Minister Stojan Jeftic said that the state
has already contacted neighboring countries and
requested that accumulated water be re-directed to
rivers flowing through Serbia in an effort to raise
the water level. However, the entire region is
suffering drought and the responses were negative.
The parliamentary committees are to organize urgent
analysis of the worst affected areas before they
re-convene at another joint session in a month's time.
=== 16 ===
Da: Rick Rozoff
Data: Mer 30 Lug 2003 18:20:00 Europe/Rome
Oggetto: US-NATO Orders: Serbian Military Purges To Escalate
[Note: Serbia-Montenegro 'President' Zoran Zivkovic
has just returned from Washington.]
http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2003/07/4-SEE/see-300703.asp
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty - July 30, 2003
SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO BEGINS MILITARY SHAKE-UP
-[Defense Minister] Tadic went on to Jerusalem, where
he began a three-day visit to discuss military
cooperation with Israeli government officials.
Members of Serbia and Montenegro's Supreme Defense
Council agreed in Meljine near Herceg Novi on 29 July
to accept Defense Ministry proposals to sack an
unspecified number of officers, whose names will be
made public "in 10 days' time," RFE/RL's South Slavic
and Albanian Languages Service reported. Belgrade
media suggest that one man on the list is military
intelligence chief General Radoslav Skoric, who was
allegedly sacked for keeping "too close" ties to the
Bosnian Serb military. In related news, Defense
Minister Boris Tadic and Montenegrin Prime Minister
Milo Djukanovic signed an agreement providing for
Montenegrin police to take over control of
Montenegro's borders from the military. Tadic went on
to Jerusalem, where he began a three-day visit to
discuss military cooperation with Israeli government
officials. PM
http://www.makfax.com.mk/news1-a.asp?br=46227
MakFax (Macedonia) - July 30, 2003
SCG: Chief of Military Intelligence dismissed
The Supreme Defense Council of Serbia & Montenegro has
put a number of military chiefs on retirement list,
including the Head of Military Intelligence, Radoslav
Shkoric, said Belgrade’s media.
Sources close to top military officials say Shkoric
was pushing for close co-operation with the Army of
Republika Srpska.
This is a second shift of commanding structures in
military intelligence following the assassination of
Serbia’s PM Zoran Djindjic. The Head of National
Security, General Aca Tomic was replaced and kept in
custody in the aftermath of Djindjic’s assassination.
---
TADIC: POSSIBLE MILITARY COOPERATION WITH ISRAEL
TEL AVIV,July 30 (Beta)-Serbia&Montenegro Defense
Minister Boris Tadic said on July 30 that he had
talked with senior managers of the Izreali military
and aircraft industry about possible modes of
cooperation and that there was a possibility of
reaching an agreement.
Tadic told BETA in a telephone conversation that the
projects included a certain type of automatic rifle
produced by Serbia&Montenegro and unmanned aerial
vehicles.
Tadic said that these vehicles had important software
components, which could be produced in Serbia and
Montenegro. He added that they had also considered the
possibility of modernizing Russianmade helicopters,
which are commonly used in Serbia&Montenegro and the
neighboring countries.
Tadic, who is on a threeday visit to Israel, said that
an expert meeting had been scheduled, to discuss the
possibility of reaching an agreement with the Isreali
aircraft industry on one of these projects.
He said that he had talked with Izreali Prime Minister
Shimon Perez about the peace process in the Middle
East and the Balkans and the solutions that could be
applied in both cases.
=== 17 ===
LUKOVAC SAYS BOTH SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO SHOULD BE INDEPENDENT
PODGORICA, July 29 (Tanjug) - Serbia-Montenegro
Minister of International Economic Relations Branko
Lukovac on Tuesday reiterated that the state union
members would fare better if they were independent
states.
Stressing he believed that Serbia and Montenegro
"should be equal with all other European states,"
Lukovac said that "what has been done with the Action
Plan is an outstanding achievement, freeing us of
barriers that we will build some borders among
ourselves and place new obstacles." "In this document,
we succeeded in including the best values of the EU
members ensuring a free flow of people, goods and
capital, so that we removed fear that this might
affect the mutual relations of Serbia and Montenegro
in any form of their existence, either as a community
or as independent states," Lukovac told Radio Free
Europe. According to him, now that Serbia and
Montenegro have taken European standards and built
good relations and strong ties on the EU model, one
may say that it is senseless for states with full
economic responsibilities not to have their voice and
clear status in the international community. "There is
no reason for international community's fear that good
relations between Serbia and Montenegro may be
jeopardized by a change in their state and legal
status and they will be preserved the best if
everyone's right to decide on oneself is recognized,"
Lukovac said.