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========================================================
The State of Emergency in Serbia
and the Slow Murder of Slobodan Milosevic

Nico Varkevisser's April 3rd ICDSM
Press Conference in Amsterdam

[Posted 9 April 2003]
========================================================

On Thursday, 3 April 2003, the
International Committee to Defend
Slobodan Milosevic (ICDSM) held a Press
Conference in Amsterdam.

At the press conference, Nico
Varkevisser, ICDSM Vice-Chairman in
charge of media relations, addressed
recent developments in Serbia; the actual
conduct of the Tribunal (ICTY) including
the attempt to prevent President
Milosevic from meeting with whomever he
chooses; and the consequences of these
matters for President Milosevic's defense
of Yugoslavia at the Tribunal.

Here is the statement delivered to the press.

* 'State of Emergency' in Serbia - Attack
on Yugoslavia in The Hague *

1.. The killing of Mr. Djindjic last
month showed all signs of being an
operation carried out by the NATO powers
in order to execute a political change in
Belgrade.

The killing was immediately followed by
the imposition of a State of Emergency.
This has nothing to do with fighting
organized crime, as claimed by the
controlled Yugoslav media, by the Western
media, and by US Secretary of State Colin
Powell, who recently visited Belgrade.
Working in the shadow of the Iraq war,
the pro-NATO authorities have arrested
thousands of people. They have especially
attacked the defenders and family of
President Slobodan Milosevic.

2.. Why was Zoran Djindjic killed? Mr.
Djindjic had ceased to be useful. He and
Yugoslav President Kostunica had done
their job. They destroyed the economy.
They violated the Yugoslav Constitution
and defied the Constitutional Court by
kidnapping Slobodan Milosevic and sending
this defender of Yugoslav sovereignty to
The Hague. They liquidated the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia.

Djindjic was despised by ordinary people
who blamed him personally for the
catastrophe that followed the October
5th, 2000 coup d'état in Belgrade.

No longer useful to NATO as a living
politician, and perhaps not completely
under NATO's control, Djindjic was
rendered useful by death.

3.. This assassination did not constitute
merely the removal of a no-longer-useful
individual. The implementation of the
State of Emergency, followed by mass
arrests, the specific targeting of the
SLOBODA foundation, which is central to
the defense of President Milosevic,
including arrests and other acts intended
to intimidate President Milosevic's
defenders, the seizure of SLOBODA's
computers in order to paralyze the work
of President Milosevic's supporters, the
arrest and indefinite detention of
SLOBODA President Bogoljub Bjelica, and
much-increased media slander and wild
accusations made against President
Milosevic's wife, Mira Markovic - with
the result that she is no longer able to
visit her husband - all this indicates
the nature of this, the second Yugoslav
coup d'état.

================================

'State of Emergency' Targets
anti-NATO opposition, not organized crime

================================

4.. To tighten its grip on Serbia, NATO
has installed a State of Emergency. This
means that the period during which
so-called democracy could serve as a
façade, hiding the anti-democratic
character of the October 2000 coup
d'état, is over. What will come now is
dictatorship, whether hard or soft.

The importance of this new dictatorship
to NATO is demonstrated by the recent
visit of US Secretary of State Collin
Powell. Though fully occupied with the
terrible war in Iraq, Powell had time to
come to Belgrade to praise 'the fight
against organised crime' and 'those who
threaten this society'.

Who are these threats to society who have
been arrested?

Journalists, lawyers, trade unionists,
dissenting politicians, political
activists, much-decorated Generals of the
Yugoslav Army, teachers, Professors and
writers. And defenders and family of
Slobodan Milosevic.

================

Absurd accusations

================

5.. The claim by the Belgrade authorities
and the media that President Milosevic is
linked to organized crime is simply
ridiculous. They speak of his 'contact'
with the mysterious Mr. Legija, officer
of the Red Berets. But his first contact
with that gentleman occurred when Legija
led a force of thousands of armed men,
some masked, who arrested President
Milosevic on April 1, 2001. Half a year
earlier, Mr. Legija took part in the
October 2000 coup d'état, which installed
Mr. Djindjic and Mr. Kostunica in power.

The accusations against President
Milosevic's wife, Mira Markovic, that she
was somehow involved in the death of
former Yugoslav President Ivan Stambolic,
are equally outlandish. Using easily
available information, we have produced
an analysis proving these charges cannot
be true. See, "The Absurdity of the
Accusations against Mira Markovic in the
Stambolic Murder," in your press kit. [To
be posted shortly on the Internet.]

6.. The claim that the Emergency
authorities are fighting organized crime
inherited from President Milosevic is a
vicious lie. During Slobodan Milosevic's
presidency, his government fought crime,
harder than many realize; and they did it
without a State of Emergency.

If President Milosevic had instituted a
State of Emergency, the world would have
cried that he was "as bad as Hitler". Yet
the Western media has only praise for the
current draconian measures.

7. There is ample evidence that those who
staged the October 2000 coup d'état
relied on organized crime. It is well
known that Mr. Djindjic was intimately
involved with criminals, for example the
cigarette Mafia in Montenegro. In
addition, since the October 2000 coup
d'état, the new authorities have acted as
criminals on a grand scale - overthrowing
the elected government, routinely
violating the constitution and some of
the established rules of Yugoslav and
Serbian democracy, giving away the
Yugoslav economy to their controllers
from the NATO countries.

So: criminals in their own right, and
linked to the Mafia, but now they root
out organized crime!

===========================================

Repression in Serbia
targets Milosevic's work at The Hague

===========================================

8.. These developments in Serbia have had
a great impact on the defense of
President Milosevic. His research and
support team in Belgrade is under heavy
attack and his wife has been cut off from
him. All this jeopardizes his ability to
maintain his historic defense against
NATO's court.

9.. The affect of the arrests and witch
hunt against President Milosevic's family
have been magnified because the Tribunal
continues to prevent him from seeing
lawyers and other associates of his
choice.

========================

ICDSM prevented from
meeting with President Milosevic

========================

10.. At President Milosevic's request, in
mid-December the ICDSM sent a delegation
to The Hague. However, the meeting was
denied by the Tribunal after we were told
it would be accepted. Two reasons were
given.

The first reason, claimed the Tribunal,
was that Ramsey Clark had visited
President Milosevic the day before, and
in the opinion of Tribunal officials,
this sufficed. ICDSM Attorney Tiphaine
Dickson spent a week at The Hague trying
to reverse this ruling; President
Milosevic protested as well; but all to
no avail.

Aside from the fact that Mr. Clark's
visit bore no relation to the work of the
ICDSM, and apart from the fact that
Tribunal officials were fully aware of
the request by President Milosevic to
meet our delegation well before the
impromptu visit of Mr. Clark, the reality
of this situation, where the Tribunal
arbitrarily decides who can and who
cannot see President Milosevic, and uses
one visit to cancel another, is absurd,
unacceptable and in violation of
President Milosevic's most basic rights.

The second reason for denying our visit,
according to the Tribunal, was that they
had concluded from reading the ICDSM
Website that we meant to report to the
media what President Milosevic told us.

This is remarkable. The Tribunal staff
and Prosecution regularly make
anti-Milosevic statements to the press.
The press lies about what transpires
during Tribunal proceedings. But not only
is President Milosevic forbidden to talk
to the press, on pain of being entirely
cut off from the outside world, but
members of his support committee are
forbidden to talk to the press as well.
We protest this attempt to gag us. Of
course it demonstrates the profound
insecurity of the Tribunal. So much
power, so frightened of daylight.

You will find in your press kit a copy of
the Tribunal's fax denying President
Milosevic his right to meet with our
delegation. [Note: This fax is now posted
on the Internet.]
http://www.icdsm.org/more/fax.htm

=================

Murder in slow motion

==================

11.. And there is more. We continue to
have the most serious concerns about
President Milosevic's medical care. When
his heart problems became more serious,
in the beginning of last year, the
Tribunal initially treated his condition
with aspirin. They refused to let
Yugoslav and other specialists examine
him. In November of last year we read in
the Dutch press that President Milosevic
had been given the wrong medicine.

Apparently nothing was done about this,
despite a flood of protests, because
President Milosevic continued to complain
about the side affects of the medicine he
received, which caused dizziness and
insomnia, making it hard to function.

That this was caused by faulty medicine
is indicated by the fact that when, very
recently, President Milosevic was given
different medication, the symptoms went
away.

12.. Is the problem mistaken diagnosis?
Or something worse?

Events make clear that this mistreatment
is deliberate.

Last July, Judge May read in court the
statement of a doctor who had examined
President Milosevic. The doctor said that
because of his serious heart condition,
President Milosevic should have more time
for rest. Instead, the Tribunal increased
his work hours.

Not only has the Tribunal refused to let
coronary specialists examine President
Milosevic, but in a session of the
Tribunal, at which President Milosevic
was not present, Judge May accused him of
refusing medication. This is simply a
lie.

========================

Four hundred *thousand* pages

========================

13.. The Tribunal has recently given
President Milosevic 400.000 (four hundred
thousand) pages of "relevant" documents
to read. If one were to read 500 pages a
day, obviously an impossibility, this
would take two years.

The intent is obviously to put an
unbearable strain on the former Yugoslav
head of state, whose heart condition
responds negatively to stress. This,
combined with the spiteful medical
'care', gives a picture of machinery
operating to destroy a man it cannot
politically defeat.

========================

If you can't defeat him, kill him

========================

14.. Perhaps The Hague proceedings were
planned to be a show trial. But
immediately the trial began, President
Milosevic's forthright, accurate and
devastating opening comments about what
NATO had done to his country frightened
those who control the Tribunal.

They realized that if ordinary people
were permitted to witness the
proceedings, the world would learn that
the media-created impressions of
President Milosevic, the Serbian people,
and what had happened in Yugoslavia, were
all based on lies.

Within days, virtually all television and
in-full newspaper coverage was stopped
cold.

========================

Why this case is so important

========================

Now, instead of a show trial, we are
witnessing a slow political murder! We
call upon on all people concerned with
the truth and with justice, upon all who
have realized NATO was wrong in
Yugoslavia, upon all who support
President Milosevic, upon all who support
fair play, to undertake initiatives to
support his demand to postpone this
so-called trial, to give President
Milosevic time to recover, with proper
medical care, and in freedom, to prepare
his continuing counterattack against
NATO's lies.

15.. Whatever their faults, national and
multinational states are today a crucial
component of ordinary people's rights -
often the very right to live - won over
centuries of struggle. All who now strive
for peaceful solutions to the problems of
our world should realize: Yugoslavia is
the model for national destruction in
this new Empire.

By refusing to make a legalistic defense
of just himself, by standing up to NATO's
lies about Yugoslavia at The Hague
Tribunal, President Milosevic is not only
defending the peoples of Yugoslavia.

He is defending us all.

-- ICDSM

1. To obtain the media kit, please write
icdsm@...

2. To be added to the ICDSM media list,
write icdsm@...

3. For further information contact Nico
Varkevisser

Phone ++ 31 20 615 1122

Fax ++ 31 20 615 1120

============================

(... To help the ICDSM fund, please go to
http://www.icdsm.org/donate.htm ...)

========================

Footnotes and Further Reading

========================

The record shows that President Milosevic
and the Serbian people have been the
victims of a campaign of media lies.

1) "Media Misrepresentation Of
Milosevic's Words: A Review Of The
Evidence," by Prof. Francisco Gil-White
at
http://www.icdsm.org/more/gw.htm

2) "KLA Attacks Everyone; Media
Attacks...Milosevic?" by Jared Israel at
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/jared/expan.htm

3) Regarding our charge that the ICTY is
NATO's instrument, see "Official
Statements Prove Hague 'Tribunal' Belongs
to NATO," at
http://www.icdsm.org/more/belongs.htm

4) Here are 'Judge' May's own words
during the session of the so-called trail
on the 25th:

"?We have received a report, a medical
report, which in its conclusion describes
the accused as a man with severe
cardiovascular risk which demands careful
future monitoring. The authors recommend
that his workload be reduced?"

As a group of Nobel Prize winning
physicians from Germany noted in their
open letter to The Hague, since Judge May
made this statement, the ICTY has done
exactly the opposite.
http://emperor.vwh.net/icdsm/more/physicians.htm

www.icdsm.org

il manifesto - 11 Marzo 2003

Disoccupati di guerra

Zastava addio? A 4 anni dalla guerra dimenticata e a due dalla svolta
liberista la più grande fabbrica di automobili dei Balcani è allo
stremo

LORIS CAMPETTI

Chi si ricorda più del Kosovo, due o tre guerre fa? Allora la guerra
si chiamava intervento umanitario e quando le bombe intelligenti
ammazzavano la popolazione serba, nonché quella albanese che si diceva
di voler difendere, si trattava soltanto di effetti collaterali. A
sostenere le ragioni delle bombe, il 24 marzo del `99, in Italia era
il governo di centrosinistra. Soffrendo, naturalmente, ma il
nostro paese doveva essere riconosciuto atlanticamente fedele e
promosso nel club delle nazioni che contano, spiegava il presidente
Massimo D'Alema. Ancora più sofferenza si registrava in casa della
Cgil, dove contro la guerra non furono schierate le armate pacifiche
dei lavoratori, in nome della contingente necessità. Oggi l'Ulivo sta
pagando cara quella guerra e deve rispondere a ogni piè sospinto alle
accuse delle destre al governo. La maggior parte dei dirigenti di
centrosinistra tenta goffamente di ribaltare la frittata per dire:
«Noi non siamo contro tutte le guerre, siamo contro questa guerra».
Solo da Sergio Cofferati, allora segretario generale della Cgil, è
venuto un ripensamento: «Forse non è stato fatto il possibile per
evitarla».
Non sto a chiedere a Rajka, a Ruzica e a Radoslav come valutino tale
ripensamento, che riguarda non solo un dirigente ma l'insieme della
più importante organizzazione di massa italiana, di fronte al rischio
di una nuova, terribile avventura bellica. I tre sindacalisti
della Zastava portano ancora sulla pelle i segni della guerra
umanitaria e sabato 15 febbraio, alla più grande manifestazione
pacifista, dal palco di piazza San Giovanni Rajka ha ricordato a
tutti cosa è stata quella guerra e quali macerie si è lasciata alle
spalle, senza risolvere alcuno degli obiettivi che i gendarmi del
mondo e i loro sherpa avevano annunciato. Rajka Veljovic parla bene
l'italiano e per questo, oltre che per passione civile, dal `99 si
occupa delle adozioni a distanza dei figli dei lavoratori della
fabbrica di auto distrutta dalle bombe, attivate in Italia da
associazioni, gruppi, da strutture della Fiom e dalla Cgil, cioè da
chi 4 anni fa non si era fatto abbindolare dalla «contingente
necessità». L'iniziativa era stata lanciata dal manifesto con
l'associazione Abc solidarietà e pace. Ruzica Milosavljevic è membro
della presidenza del sindacato metalmeccanico serbo e Radoslav Delic è
il segretario generale del Sindacato Autonomo Zastava. Ci siamo fatti
raccontare dai tre amici che cosa resta di quella che fu la prima
fabbrica di automobili dei Balcani, parte di un gruppo metalmeccanico
diversificato in moltissime attività. Una di queste è la Zastava
Kamiona, la cui proprietà vede tutt'ora la presenza - con una quota
vicina al 50% - della Fiat-Iveco. Ma è dall'inizio delle guerre che
hanno sventrato la ex-Jugoslavia che la multinazionale torinese si è
chiamata fuori, disinteressandosi della sorte della sua partecipata.

Qualche lettore ricorderà i nostri reportages dalla Zastava di
Kragujevac, le decine di operai che presidiavano la loro fabbrica
feriti dalle bombe, i reparti rasi al suolo, la centrale elettrica
colpita con millimetrica precisione così come le lapidi che
ricordavano i lavoratori uccisi dai nazisti nella 2° guerra mondiale.
Quasi nulla rimase in piedi delle officine e delle linee di montaggio,
dell'infermeria, del centro di calcolo. La distruzione del reparto di
verniciatura provocò un terribile danno ambientale per la
fuoriuscita di liquidi chimici cancerogeni (Pbc o pirolene) che sono
penetrati nel terreno della zona circostante lo stabilimento. Per non
parlare di uranio impoverito di cui, infatti, in Serbia non si parla.
Dati scientifici è impensabile averne, la caduta di Slobo Milosevic
non ha portato né trasparenza né sicurezza. Si sa, e ce lo conferma
Rajka, che i casi di tumori - in particolare al seno - sono aumentati
a dismisura nell'area di Kragujevac, tra le più inquinate della Serbia
insieme a Pancevo dove venne ripetutamente bombardato il
petrolchimico. Donne, anziani e soprattutto bambini sono le fasce più
esposte della popolazione. La situazione sanitaria è allarmante:
«Nel reparto di radiologia di Kragujevac gli apparecchi non funzionano
da mesi. Alla gente colpita dal cancro - dice Rajka - non resta che
aspettare la morte, senza quei farmaci introvabili o troppo cari che
potrebbero alleviare la sofferenza e allungare la vita. A Kragujevac
non c'è uno strumento per la mammografia e così le donne sono
costrette ad andare a loro spese all'ospedale di Belgrado, dove ci
sono soltanto due apparecchi. Nel presidio sanitario della Zastava,
ricostruito con la solidarietà internazionale, ce n'è uno ma non
funziona perché manca un pezzo, costosissimo. Degli operai che hanno
lavorato al risanamento del reparto fucine, sette sono già morti di
tumore al fegato e molti hanno gravi problemi alla pelle e al fegato.
Nel campo profughi di Kragujevac, dove vivono anche ex lavoratori
della Zastava, si stanno registrando svariati casi di tubercolosi».

Due anni fa, dopo la caduta del regime di Milosevic, sull'onda
dell'ubriacatura neoliberista il Gruppo Zastava è stato scomposto in
decine di aziende per favorirne la privatizzazione. Da allora,
soltanto un reparto è stato privatizzato (produzione di solventi,
appena 13 addetti). Nel frattempo, la mannaia del nuovo corso
economico e i dicktat del Fondo mentario hanno desertificato le
fabbriche, alla paralisi per effetto delle bombe e della crisi: dei
36mila dipendenti del gruppo ne restano meno di 16mila. Nel settore
automobilistico gli occupati sono scesi da 13.500 a 4.300. E chi
resta, di lavoro da fare ne ha ben poco. Prima dell'inizio delle
guerre jugoslave, la Zastava produceva 220 mila automobili, nel 2002
sono uscite dalle linee di montaggio di Kragujevac - parzialmente
ricostruite dal lavoro degli operai, organizzati dal sindacato di
Rajka - appena 10 mila vetture dei vari modelli Yugo. Il che significa
che ogni operaio costruisce poco più di due automobili l'anno. Per non
parlare dell'Iveco: 430 camion lo scorso anno, contro una produzione
di 5 mila in tempi normali. La drastica riduzione dell'occupazione è
stata realizzata attraverso l'incentivo alle dimissioni
(200 marchi per anno di anzianità), gli altri esuberi sono stati
collocati chi nel collocamento pubblico, chi in quello della Zastava.
Ma il mercato del lavoro è inesistente nell'area di Kragujevac, dove
vivono 200-250 mila abitanti, da sempre esclusivamenti legati alla
filiera della Zastava.

Gli investimenti stranieri non arrivano, il sistema bancario della
Serbia è al collasso (10 mila licenziati in pochi mesi). I disoccupati
nel paese sono 905 mila, il 50% della forza di lavoro. Il 65% della
popolazione spende meno di 2 dollari al giorno, il 20% meno di 1
dollaro. Solo il 3% dei disoccupati usufruisce di un sussidio
pubblico, pari al 60% del salario, garantito solo per il primo anno di
disoccupazione. Chi ancora lavora (si fa per dire) alla Zastava
percepisce un salario di 150 euro, a cui va sottratto il costo del
pasto. «Ma solo quando la fabbrica è aperta: a gennaio, lo
stabilimento è rimasto chiuso per tutto il mese e il salario è stato
sostituito da una sorta di cassa integrazione, quindi decurtato. Chi è
iscritto al collocamento della Zastava percepisce appena 50 euro e
dev'essere disposto a qualsiasi lavoro, anche ad andare a
cogliere la frutta «in un'altra parte della Serbia. Chi rinuncia viene
cancellato dal collocamento. Inoltre è in corso una riforma del
mercato del lavoro per cui, chi verrà scoperto a fare qualche
lavoretto per integrare il sussidio con cui non si campa, perderà
tutto». Eppure, nonostante la pesante crisi economica e sociale, un
piccolo mercato dell'auto esiste. Ma è un mercato particolare: «Invece
di sostenere la produzione dell'industria nazionale si favorisce
l'importazione». Racconta Rajka: «Due anni fa, uno dei primi decreti
del governo presieduto da Djndjc autorizzò l'importazione di vetture
usate, e in questo modo è stata affossata la nostra produzione. Pensa
che già nel primo anno sono state immatricolate 280 mila automobili
straniere, il che spiega il crollo della produzione Zastava» (prezzo
delle Yugo, da 3,5 mila euro per il modello base a 6 mila per la
versione Florida).

Il sindacato maggioritario (85% dei dipendenti sono iscritti al
Sindacato autonomo, quello che più si è impegnato nella ricostruzione
post-bellica e nelle adozioni a distanza) della Zastava, di quel che
resta dei vari pezzi del gruppo collassato, continua a battersi per la
ripresa della produzione e per modifiche legislative che ne sostengano
la domanda. In questo quadro, il ruolo dei sindacalisti è poco più che
assistenziale: «Ci battiamo per costringere la direzione a consegnare
regolarmente i salari ai dipendenti, e non è un'impresa da poco.
Organizzare scioperi è sempre più difficile, dopo lo spezzatino del
gruppo e i licenziamenti di massa». Ultimamente c'è stato un
proliferare di sindacatini. Prospettive di interventi di capitali
stranieri, per ora non se ne vedono. La Fiat-Iveco continua a
disinteressarsi della Zastava Kamiona, mentre la voce diffusa mesi fa
sull'arrivo di un mercante statunitense, Malcolm Briklin, in passato
importatore negli Usa di vetture Yugo, si è rivelata infondata. Si può
dire che l'unica iniziativa concreta a favore della Zastava negli
ultimi 4 anni, sia stata l'adozione a distanza dei figli dei
lavoratori.
Oggi, in Italia, molti pensano che la Jugoslavia sia tornata alla
normalità. «Purtroppo non è così - chiariscono Rajka, Ruzica e
Radoslav - e la situazione sociale, occupazionale, sanitaria è
peggiore di quando ci cadevano le bombe sulla testa».

Non possiamo che far nostro l'appello a rilanciare la solidarietà con
questi lavoratori d'oltre Adriatico. Per aderire all'iniziativa,
contattare l'associazione «Abc solidarietà e pace»: via Umberto
Calosso 50, 00155 Roma; email: abcsolidarieta@... posta
elettronica; http://abcsolidarieta.freeweb.org; telefono e fax:
06-4063334

---

Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 11:41:04 +0200
From: "Abconlus" <info@...>
To: A, B, C, Solidarietà e pace <abcsolidarieta@...>


Il 30 marzo 2003 si è svolta la IV Assemblea annuale dei soci dell'
Associazione "A, B, C, solidarietà e pace".

L'Assemblea, confermando la linea politica militante di diplomazia dal
basso, espressa in questi anni attraverso interventi e finanziamenti
mirati a sostenere microprogetti precisi, concreti e circoscritti, ha
voluto manifestare la sua opposizione a quello che sta accadendo in
questi terribili giorni nel Golfo, approvando, su proposta del
Consiglio direttivo, lo stanziamento di mille euro a favore dei
bambini iracheni curati nel dispensario per malattie gastrointestinali
infantili di Bassora. La somma sarà erogata a favore dell'Associazione
"Un ponte per...".

L'Assemblea ha anche approvato la relazione sull'attività svolta nel
corso del 2002 e i bilanci consuntivo 2002 e preventivo 2003.

Sono stati poi confermati, per altri tre anni, revisori gli amici
Giorgi Colomba Rossella, Giovanni D'Alfonso e Fabio Fanti e supplenti
Rosa Ortu e Marco Santamaria.

Nel corso dell'assemblea sono stati infine annunciati la "nascita" di
"A, B, C, solidariedade e paz - Guiné Bissau" e un accordo con la
Direzione Sanitaria della Regione Oio della Guinea Bissau.

Speriamo di poter lavorare sempre meglio grazie al vostro sostegno!
Cordiali saluti a tutti.

IL CONSIGLIO DIRETTIVO DI ABC

Date: Tue, 8 Apr 2003 10:55:08 +0200
From: "Vladimir Krsljanin"


YU MEDIA CENTER BELGRADE

Utorak, 8. april, 13.00 Konferencija za novinare Udruzenja "Sloboda"
jugoslovenskog komiteta za odbranu Slobodana
Milosevica Prof. dr Mirko Zurovac, profesor Filozofskog fakulteta u
Beogradu, Dr Branko Rakic, docent Pravnog fakulteta u
Beogradu, Mr Vladimir Krsljanin, ambasador i Momo Raicevic, advokat,
govorice o Hagu i sudbini Srbije.

Prenos uzivo: srpski,
Prenos Konferencija
http://www.yumediacenter.com/srpski/indexs.asp


Tuesday, April 8, 1:00 p.m. Press conference by the "Sloboda"
Association of the Yugoslav Committee for the Defense of
Slobodan Milosevic Prof. Dr. Mirko Zurovac, professor at the Faculty
of Philosophy in Belgrade, Dr. Branko Rakic, assistant
professor at the Faculty of Law in Belgrade, Vladimir Krsljanin, M.A.,
ambassador and Momo Raicevic, lawyer, to speak about
The Hague and the destiny of Serbia.

Live broadcast: serbian,
Broadcast Conference
http://www.yumediacenter.com/srpski/indexs.asp


===


Date: Mon, 7 Apr 2003 03:15:48 +0200
From: "Vladimir Krsljanin"


STOP THE AGGRESSION AND THE HAGUE TERROR AGAINST SERBIA!


AFTER PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC EXPOSED THE ROLE OF THE
HAGUE AND ITS MENTORS IN THE PRESENT TERROR IN
SERBIA, TV TRANSMITIONS FROM THE TRIBUNAL HAVE BEEN
TEMPORARILY STOPPED IN SERBIA "DUE TO TECHNICAL
REASONS".

ON THURSDAY, APRIL 3RD, AFTER BEING FOR MONTHS
TORTURED BY THE "TRIAL" RHYTHM AND BY THE PRISON
CONDITIONS AND FINALLY GIVEN WRONG THERAPY,
PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC DEMANDED ADJOURNMENT OF THE
TRIAL FOR HIS PROPER MEDICAL TREATMENT, RECOVERY
AND APPROPRIATE PREPARATION FOR THE CONTINUATION
OF THE PROCESS. HE STRESSED THAT HE RECEIVED 400000
(FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND) PAGES OF MATERIAL FROM
THE PROSECUTION. JUST FOR QUICK READING OF 500 PAGES
PER DAY, ONE WOULD NEED 800 DAYS!

IN SERBIA, DAYS OF DARKEST POLITICAL TERROR
CONTINUE. THOUSANDS HAVE BEEN ARRESTED - TO KILL
ORGANIZED CRIME, AUTHORITIES CLAIM. BUT DRUGS ARE
STILL IN THE SAME AMOUNT IN THE STREETS, AND ALMOST
AT THE SAME PRICE.

AFTER THE MEDIA HAVE BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO
DIRTIEST INSTRUMENT OF POLITICAL LYNCH, AND AFTER
SEVERAL OPPOSITION POLITICAL ACTIVISTS HAVE BEEN
ARRESTED, THE ACTION CONTINUES. THEY ARREST
GENERALS, LAWYERS (THEY DEFENDED CRIMINALS!),
JOURNALISTS! THE WARRANT AGAINST PRESIDENT
MILOSEVIC'S WIFE HAS BEEN ISSUED. THERE ARE RUMORS
ABOUT THE TORTURE IN PRISONS.

STOP THIS INFERNAL SEQUENCE!

WE STILL KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE DESTINY OF OUR
COMRADES!

IN ALL BELGRADE SQUARES, IN SPITE THE TOTALLY CALM
SITUATION ALL THE TIME, ONE CAN SEE UNITS OF
GENDARMERIE (POLICE MILITARY UNITS) IN PANZERS, WITH
COVERED FACES, WITH MACHINE GUNS, WITH ARMORED
VEHICLES AND WITH THE LICENSE TO KILL (ANYONE WHO
WOULD RESIST ARREST).

NO MORE US DEMOCRACY IN SERBIA!

STOP THE US UNHIDDEN WAR IN IRAQ AND US HIDDEN WAR
IN YUGOSLAVIA!

STOP THE IMPERIAL GLOBAL CRUSADE AGAINST PEOPLE!

FREE MILOSEVIC! FREE SERBIA!



STOP THE POLITICAL REPRESSION IN SERBIA!

STOP THE EVIL CAMPAIGN AGAINST PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC, HIS
FAMILY AND ASSOCIATES!

RELEASE BOGOLJUB BJELICA AND OTHER POLITICAL PRISONERS!

SEND PROTESTS AND APPEALS TO YUGOSLAV EMBASSIES! -find
their addresses at http://www.mfa.gov.yu/Worldframe.htm

(Zyuganov: Stop the repression in Serbia! 31/3/2003
For this document in english go to:
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/2419 )


FERMATE LA REPRESSIONE IN SERBIA!
Dichiarazione di G.A. Zjuganov, presidente dell'Unione Popolare
Patriottica di Russia
www.kprf.ru =

31 marzo 2003

Dopo l'assassinio del primo ministro Djindjic, in Serbia è stato
dichiarato lo stato di emergenza. E' chiaro che ciò rappresenta un
affare interno delle autorità di ciascun paese, che hanno il diritto
di decidere come reagire ad ogni situazione concreta. Però, diversi
segnali mostrano che lo stato di emergenza viene usato prima di tutto
per scopi politici. Si può far notare che la Serbia non vive nel caos
e neppure in uno stato di disobbedienza civile. La legge e l'ordine
vengono rispettati. Non esiste alcun pericolo proveniente
dall'esterno. Le indagini sull'assassinio proseguono senza ostacoli. E
allora che senso ha l'imposizione dello stato di emergenza?
In tal modo la libertà di stampa è stata drasticamente limitata.
Vengono proibiti i raduni, le assemblee e gli scioperi. Le azioni
delle autorità fuoriescono dall'ambito delle indagini e della lotta
contro la criminalità. La polizia ha ottenuto il diritto di effettuare
perquisizioni e arresti arbitrari, di intercettare le conversazioni
telefoniche, di violare la segretezza della corrispondenza. Più di
duemila persone sono state arrestate. Violando gravemente la legge,
sono stati costretti alle dimissioni 35 giudici. E' in corso
un'energica "purga" negli organi di sicurezza. Quale connessione
possono avere queste misure semplicemente repressive con la ricerca
degli assassini? Si è generata l'impressione che, dietro la copertura
della caccia agli organizzatori dell'assassinio di Djindjic, le
autorità della Serbia nascondano in realtà una resa dei conti con i
propri avversari personali e politici, ed abbiano l'intenzione di
stroncare ogni opposizione.
Sono stati tratti in arresto i leader della campagna in difesa di
Slobodan Milosevic, Bogoljub Bjelica, Uros Suvakovic e Goran Matic.
Minacce e pressioni vengono esercitate su membri della famiglia di
S.Milosevic. E' chiaro che questa "caccia alle streghe", gli arresti
di persone direttamente coinvolte nella difesa del presidente
Milosevic contro accuse rivelatesi false, sono dirette a salvare la
farsa giudiziaria dell'Aia, che rischia di andare incontro ad un
fiasco totale.
I paesi occidentali, che sostengono di avere a cuore la "democrazia",
ignorano completamente che in Serbia le libertà civili sono seriamente
minacciate.
L'Unione Popolare Patriottica di Russia condanna l'uso dello stato di
emergenza in Serbia che ha lo scopo di terrorizzare gli oppositori
politici dell'attuale regime e rivolge un invito al governo della
Serbia perché siano ripristinate quanto prima possibile le libertà
civili essenziali.
Siamo intenzionati anche a sollevare il problema della repressione
politica in Serbia nel corso della prossima sessione dell'Assemblea
parlamentare del Consiglio d'Europa.

FERMATE LA REPRESSIONE POLITICA IN SERBIA!

FERMATE L'ODIOSA CAMPAGNA CONTRO IL PRESIDENTE MILOSEVIC, LA SUA
FAMIGLIA E I SUOI COLLABORATORI!

LIBERATE BOGOLJUB BJELICA E GLI ALTRI PRIGIONIERI POLITICI!

31 marzo 2003

Traduzione dal russo
di Mauro Gemma

http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?archive/bcr3/bcr3_200304_419_5_eng.txt

German Media Giant Dominates Balkans

Massive investment by a German publisher is revolutionising media in
the Balkans, but opinion is divided over the merits of the
transformation.

By Julie Poucher Harbin in Vienna and Sarajevo, Elena Yoncheva in
Bulgaria, Vera Didanovic in Serbia, and Drago Hedl in Croatia (BCR No
419, 01-04-03)

Germany's WAZ media group is pumping millions of dollars into former
state newspapers in Bulgaria and the former Yugoslavia, giving ailing
titles a new lease of life. Yet there are fears the takeovers could
lead to a suffocating monopoly, concentrating media in the hands of a
few powerful businessmen.

The opening up of media to western investors in the early and mid-
1990s offered a fresh start to many papers in eastern and south-
eastern Europe. Unprecedented levels of investment and exciting new
formats seemed a sure-fire way of making them more competitive and
attracting a new readership. But have these hopes been justified? Or
has western ownership of large sections of the press come at too high
a price?

Many western countries have experienced the downside of having too
few owners in control of too many newspapers. This must be a
particular worry in the Balkans, where an absolute state monopoly
over the press is still very recent. Papers are generally on a weak
commercial footing, and the regulatory environment is still nascent.

The press is an important opinion-former in the Balkans, but
historically it has been very vulnerable to political pressure. As
wealthy foreign media companies move in to buy up leading titles,
many fear that one form of monopoly ownership and political bias
could simply be replaced by another - that of big business.

There are concerns that smaller players will be driven out of the
market, and that with them will go true pluralism of expression.
Editorial freedom may be curbed as much by the demand to "dumb down"
as by overt political pressures.

In this special report, IWPR looks at how one of the major players
now in the Balkans, Germany's WAZ media group, has operated in three
countries. We have taken Bulgaria, Croatia and Yugoslavia (now Serbia
and Montenegro) as our examples, because media development has moved
at a different pace in each country despite many common concerns. Of
the three, Bulgaria has the longest experience of WAZ involvement in
the press, while for Serbia it is still a novelty.

THE RISE OF WAZ

WAZ is a German media giant built on the success of the Essen paper
Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, from which it takes its initials.
The media group already published a wide range of daily papers and
magazines across Germany, Austria and Hungary before it went into
south-east Europe in 1996.

Since that time, it has become the unchallenged leader among foreign
media investors. Pumping millions of euro into publishing houses and
printing plants in the region since the mid-90s, WAZ owns an
additional 13 papers and numerous magazines in Bulgaria, Croatia,
Yugoslavia and Romania.

A few figures should suffice to show the scale of WAZ's conquests. In
Bulgaria it controls a third of print publications and nearly half
the print advertising market. In Croatia the group, together with its
local partner, have between one third and one half of the daily paper
and magazine market respectively.

In Serbia it owns half of the major publishing house that puts out
the prominent Belgrade daily Politika. With investments on the cards
in Montenegro and northern Serbia, it is only the beginning of their
expansion plans there.

Add to this the majority stake that WAZ has obtained in two leading
Romanian papers, National and Romania Libera, since 2001, and you
begin to get the picture.

And it is not over yet. In an interview for IWPR, Dr Markus Beermann,
who is in charge of WAZ's operations outside Germany, said his firm
is looking forward to a boom in the print market all across south-
east Europe. "It has been an enormous challenge for us investing in
the Balkans," he said. "But we are sure we are on the right track."

UNSTOPPABLE?

In the tough economic aftermath of communism and civil war in the
Balkans, the group's huge budget gave it virtually a free hand to buy
up major papers and spruce up both their look and their content with
the help of better journalists attracted by higher wages.
Refurbishing obsolete printing presses allows the Germans to slash
production and distribution costs.

Such economic clout has naturally given rise to concerns that across
the region, WAZ is seeking a monopoly over papers, distribution
systems and advertising revenue. A trade union representative of the
group's German workforce put it bluntly:

"WAZ is almost unstoppable," Horst Leroi warned a trade union seminar
held in Zagreb in 2001. "Wherever it goes, it buys more and more,
taking over newspapers, printing firms and distribution networks,
destroying the competition or merging with it. Then it rationalises
and creates publishing and marketing pools. And wherever possible the
number of employees is reduced. Everything is directed towards one
single goal: maximum profits."

There's some evidence to support this harsh view. Take Bulgaria,
where the group has had more time to establish itself as dominant
player than in Croatia or Serbia.

BULGARIA: AGGRESSIVE BUSINESS, TIMID REGULATION

WAZ first entered the Bulgarian market in 1996. Two years later, it
owned the country's biggest dailies and controlled three-quarters of
the print media market, with shares valued at 50 million euro. Its
subsidiary, WAZ Media Group Bulgaria, owned the Media Holding
company, which publishes the biggest circulation daily, Trud, as well
as another publishing group, Press Group 168 Hours, that prints the
popular daily 24 Chasa and the weekly 168 Chasa.

This sweeping success did not go unnoticed by the authorities. In
1999, Bulgaria's anti-monopoly agency, the Committee for the
Protection of Competition, CPC, decided that WAZ had breached
legislation prohibiting ownership of more than 35 per cent of the
country's media by any one firm. As a result, the group was forced to
divest itself of most of its shares in Media Holding. It sold 65 per
cent to Bulgarian, Austrian and Swiss investors, and held on to 35
per cent.

The redistribution apparently brought the Germans back within the
law. That's certainly the way the CPC sees it. Its chairman, Nikolay
Pavlov, told IWPR in an interview that WAZ no longer has an ownership
monopoly. Its share of the market is now somewhere between 30 and 37
per cent, he said. He also said the group no longer has an
advertising monopoly - a view which contrasts sharply with his
commission's 1999 ruling that WAZ controlled 70 per cent of the print
advertising market.

Dr Beermann, too, rejects any talk of a monopoly. "The WAZ Group
holds an important share in the print media market, but is far away
from keeping a dominant position," he said. "Over and above that, the
print titles of our subsidiary company in Bulgaria are in keen
competition with each other."

This view is not shared by all Bulgarians. There is still a
perception that the biggest papers are in German hands, that WAZ
continues to monopolise print and advertising, and that, as a result,
independents cannot compete. This is borne out by the fact that WAZ
Media Group Bulgaria still fully owns Press Group 168 Hours and the
Exprint printing house, which prints all WAZ publications, including
24 Chasa and Trud.

Even if it does not technically have a monopoly, WAZ is still accused
by its critics of trying to squeeze rival publications out of the
market. In Bulgaria it distributes its papers on a sale-or-return
basis. Distributors thus tend to order more papers from the German
publisher and less from its competitors, who do not have a sale-or-
return policy and charge retailers the full amount however many they
sell. Add to that the fact that WAZ papers cost less, and it is easy
to see why Georgy Gotev of the low circulation Sega daily thinks the
group's sales policy could spell disaster for publications like his.

"They could destroy us very soon. We will disappear," Gotev told
IWPR.

But not all the blame is directed at WAZ itself. Some say that after
its initial tough stance, the CPC went soft on tackling WAZ's hold
over print media.

"We do not accuse WAZ, which is just doing its business," says Vesela
Vaceva, who heads BAREM, an association of local papers. "We accuse
the CPC, which allows this monopoly in the press."

This view is echoed by Radostina Konstantinova, deputy editor of
Monitor, one of the major competitors of leading WAZ titles.

"It is true that the WAZ monopoly is killing the Bulgarian press,"
she told IWPR. "We can't do anything in this situation, because the
only institution which could stop this monopoly, the CPC, is not
reliable."

CROATIA: CONTACTS OVER COMPETITION

As in Bulgaria, so also in Croatia WAZ appears to have come close to
an effective monopoly over the national press. The group's joint
venture with Croatia's Europa Press Holding, EPH, is today the
leading newspaper and magazine publisher.

Croatia was a natural target for WAZ investment, with a relatively
advanced economy already closely tied into German markets. In 1998,
WAZ spent 16 million euros acquiring 50 per cent ownership in EPH. At
the time, EPH already owned and published the daily Jutarnji List,
the weeklies Globus, Glorija, Arena, Mila and Auto Klub, and the
profitable Croatian editions of Cosmopolitan, Playboy and OK.

Analysts say that despite this impressive portfolio, EPH needed the
merger to obtain an injection of cash to support the ailing Jutarnji
List. That investment seems to have worked; today, Jutarnji List is
the country's second highest selling daily (after Vecernji List,
which is owned by Austria's Styria media group rather than WAZ).

And that is only one paper; across the entire Croatian market,
EPH/WAZ is a powerhouse, holding a 35 per cent share of the daily
newspaper market and 46 per cent of the magazine market, according to
WAZ officials.

Although the limit for market share is set at 30 per cent in Croatia,
the government body charged with safeguarding fair competition, the
Agency for Protection of Market Competition, has not stepped in thus
far.

Mladen Cerovac, the agency's deputy chief, told IWPR that though
EPH/WAZ controls more than 30 per cent of the print market, they are
not breaking the law, because they have not "abused their dominant
position".

The agency's powers are limited, and it can act only to prevent abuse
of monopolies, rather than the monopoly itself. It says it has not
seen evidence that EPH/WAZ is acting unfairly towards the
competition.

SERBIA: POLITICIANS AND PUBLISHERS

WAZ's entry into the Serbian market was fairly dramatic: it bought 50
per cent of the Politika publishing house, which owned Politika, a
leading paper - and one-time mouthpiece of Slobodan Milosevic - as
well as two other dailies, 14 magazines and printing and distribution
systems. The deal, concluded in March 2002, cost WAZ 12.5 million
euro.

But there were immediate questions in the press about why it had
risked so much money investing in a set of low-circulation
publications from which short-term profits were unlikely given the
depressed state of the economy. According to one estimate (cited in
Der Spiegel in August 2002) the new venture, called Politika
Newspapers and Magazines, has debts of 100 million euro.

Darko Ribnikar, editor-in-chief of Politika Newspapers and Magazines,
acknowledges that the company was not in great shape at the time of
the deal.

"During the Milosevic regime, we lost a lot of our reputation, so
they took a certain risk in taking on a company which had lots of
employees, was technologically backward, used old machinery, and had
a tarnished reputation."

It is widely believed that the late Serbian prime minister, Zoran
Djindjic, was instrumental in brokering the deal.

Djindjic had been on good terms with WAZ's managing director, Bodo
Hombach, dating back to the days when he was in the Serbian
opposition, and Hombach was co-ordinator of the Stability Pact for
South Eastern Europe.

There was widespread speculation in the Serbian press that once it
was no longer under Milosevic's grip, Politika was seen as a
potential political vehicle by the new Serbian premier - and that he
encouraged his friends at WAZ to help him get control of it.
Supporters of this view point to the rather timely appointment of
Nenad Stefanovic, formerly PR chief for Djindic's Democratic Party,
to a senior position at Politika shortly before the deal was
concluded.

The Germans categorically rejected these allegations. Hombach and
another WAZ director, Erich Schumann, put out a press statement in
June 2002 saying, "We deny the rumours alleging secret negotiations
with top Serbian officials." The decision was "not influenced by any
interest group whatsoever," the statement said.

"The claims against Mr Hombach, the director of WAZ, are also untrue
and fabricated, and this can be easily proved. We reiterate that WAZ
is an independent, non-partisan media company whose decisions are
guided exclusively by economic and publishing criteria."

Hombach turned down IWPR's offer of an interview, but Politika's
Darko Ribnikar defended him vigorously when IWPR raised these charges
with him.

"There's nothing wrong with Mr Djindjic and Mr Hombach being friends,
but that has nothing to do with it," Ribnikar said. "Djindjic's role
was simply that he brought all the chief editors to a meeting with
the German businessmen, and it turned out that we found common ground
with WAZ."

WAZ has yet to turn the business round and make money on its Serbian
acquisitions. It is early days yet, and unusually, the new management
at Politika Newspapers and Magazines has not tried to improve the
bottom line by slashing jobs, even though they recognise that the
firm is overstaffed. Nor have they axed Politika's weaker stable-
mates, opting instead to resuscitate some ailing titles.

Despite its problems, Politika itself remains the most important
Serbian daily. By October 2003, its circulation had recovered to
about 150,000, a significant increase on the end of the Milosevic
era, when it had sunk to 100,000, but still well down on the 250,000
enjoyed in earlier years.

"We have got back the respect and confidence of the readers,"
Ribnikar told IWPR. "People trust us again."

Without waiting for Politika to turn a profit, WAZ is moving ahead
with expansion plans, especially outside the capital. The group is
close to tying up deals with the publishers of the Montenegrin daily
Vijesti and the Novi Sad paper Dnevnik.

REGIONAL COVERAGE

All this suggests a repetition of the pattern in Bulgaria, which has
seen rapid growth of WAZ's influence in the regions.

"WAZ is making the media market more competitive, but they represent
a real danger for the local press," said Milen Valkov, who heads the
Union of Journalists in Bulgaria.

New regional editions of Trud and 24 Chasa in Bulgaria are selling at
prices that match or undercut their rivals, and are capturing most of
the regional advertising revenue. Editors of rival papers claim this
amounts to a death sentence.

Tzvetan Todorov, editor of the Lovech paper Naroden Glas,
explained, "It is impossible to edit a normal newspaper in an
abnormal market environment. WAZ's dumping prices are killing our
chance to get advertisements."

In January 2003, WAZ Media Group Bulgaria completed a new print house
in Varna, which will print local editions of its main papers. Spas
Spasov, in charge of advertising at the Varna daily Narodno Delo,
doesn't know how his paper will compete.

"We can barely survive because of WAZ's print monopoly," Spasov
says, "but the biggest threat to us is the monopoly over the
advertising market."

Hary Kasabov, the chief editor of Cherno More, is not so pessimistic,
but is still wary of WAZ's cost-cutting tactics.

"I am not afraid of WAZ competition here in Varna because we are
still the news leaders," he says, "but this month we had to drop the
price of our newspaper by 25 per cent."

Meanwhile, 30 local papers have formed an association called BAREM to
combat the trend. Its head, Vesela Vaceva, said, "Our goal is not
just to withstand the WAZ monopoly, but to withstand all possible
future monopolies in the media."

COMMERCE AND CONTENT

Public opposition to the relentless advance of WAZ is muted by the
fact that it has injected so much money into the cash-strapped
Bulgarian media sector. Between 1996 and 2000, WAZ investments in
Bulgaria totalled around 50 million euro, and it expects to invest
another 30 million in new technology, new magazines and better
working conditions for staff.

Journalists working for the group's papers have no complaints either.
They are paid up to 30 per cent more than elsewhere.

WAZ journalists also say the new management, and the economic
stability it brings, make for less intrusion into editorial
independence. As Violeta Simeonova, political analyst for 24 Chasa,
told IWPR, "I think the chief editors are less tempted to make up
their own private policies. There are fewer political directives."

Speaking about WAZ's operations in the Balkans as a whole, Dr
Beermann told IWPR that the firm is confident editorial content is of
a "good standard" and that its staff are fully aware of "serious
journalistic principles based on journalistic freedom".

An expert on media in the Balkans, Oliver Money-Kyrle, who is Project
Director for the International Federation of Journalists, agrees-up
to a point.

"In the past, one always talked about interference, censorship,
either through the government or by local press barons, who had
strong political interests or strong business interests that would
heavily influence the editorial policy of their media for their own
political or business ends," he told IWPR. "Clearly if you have
foreign media ownership, that pressure is relieved from the
journalists."

But Money-Kyrle says journalists in Bulgaria do face hidden
pressures, "Because of the weaker civil society and because of the
weaker journalist organizations, there's less pressure on the media
owners to maintain the quality of the journalism. It becomes a purely
commercial venture."

Some readers and parts of the media in the Balkans believe WAZ is
guilty of "dumbing down". It is one thing to give somewhat tired
publications a more colourful and modern look, say these critics, but
quite another to lower journalistic standards and introduce a staple
diet of sensationalism and sleaze, all in the name of profit.

One journalist from 24 Chasa, who asked IWPR not to use his name,
said, "We're prepared to print anything that attracts attention.
First, we started with naked women, although we're supposed to be a
serious newspaper. Then, we started to print sensationalist stories,
many of which are not proven.

"We are publishing too many crime stories and human interest stories,
but not serious analysis. We are told nobody wants to read them."

So what do the readers think? Architect Georgi Hadjinikolov buys both
Trud and 24 Chasa because he follows politics. But he's critical of
both of them.

"Most of the information they carry is totally superficial," he
said, "and there is a shortage of serious analysis."

Judging from the people IWPR spoke to in Serbia, the overall verdict
seems more positive. After all, almost anything would be an
improvement on the Milosevic years. With the end of overt political
control, Politika's writers have greater editorial freedom. Add to
that the improved look of the paper, and you have a winning formula.

Nikola Cubrilo is a loyal supporter of Politika, and never stopped
buying it in the Milosevic years, but "since the German money came,
it looks much better - I like it."

"No other daily in Serbia compares with Politika," she says. "It's
serious and professional."

Unlike Cubrilo, Marija Zivancevic did abandon the paper when the
propaganda got too much for her, but she started buying it again
after Milosevic fell.

"Since then it's been looking better every day," she said.

POWER IN A VACUUM

Whatever its critics say, it is clear that WAZ has been a breath of
fresh air for its Serbian press partners. But it is likely that rival
newspapers - which are just as keen to develop as vigorous
independent media - will find their very existence threatened by
WAZ's economic might and its hard-nosed sales policies, as seems to
be happening in Bulgaria.

These countries don't have the luxuries of healthy economies and
tough legislation, which in western Europe help offset the worst
excesses of anti-competitive business practice.

People in the region are sensitive to issues of media control and
ownership. Some fear that the press revolution that has allowed so
many independent voices to be heard may also bring monopolies, which
curb this diversity.

Julie Poucher Harbin is a freelance journalist in Sarajevo. Elena
Yoncheva is a prominent television journalist in Bulgaria. Vera
Didanovic is a journalist with the Belgrade weekly magazine Vreme.
Drago Hedl is a journalist for the weekly Feral Tribune in Split,
Croatia.



[Note: IWPR is an anti-Yugoslav report service financed by Western
fundations and institutions. CNJ]

Subject: Delegate della Zastava a Trieste e a Brescia
Date: Mon, 07 Apr 2003 15:19:06 +0200
From: Gilberto Vlaic


Carissime tutte, carissimi tutti,

Vi comunico che due delegate dell'ufficio internazionale adozioni del
sindacato della Zastava di Kragujevac saranno in Italia questa
settimana e precisamente a Brescia e a Trieste.

A Trieste si terra' un'assemblea pubblica a poi una cena di
solidarieta' il giorno 12 aprile (sabato prossimo) alle ore 16.

Per quelle/i di voi che gravitano nell'area milanese invece
l'appuntamento e' a Brescia il giovedi' 10 aprile alle ore 17.



=== BRESCIA 10 APRILE ===


A S S O C I A Z I O N E Z A S T A V A
P E R L A S O L I D A R I E T A'
I N T E R N A Z I O N A L E - B R E S C I A
O N L U S -
c/o Camera del Lavoro Territoriale, via Folonari nr. 20
25100 BRESCIA
INFO 030.2584282 / 030.2703114
www.zastavabrescia.cjb.net - zastavabrescia@...


A TUTTI GLI ADERENTI AL PROGRAMMA DI ADOZIONI A DISTANZA DEI
BAMBINI FIGLI DEI LAVORATORI DELLA ZASTAVA DI KRAGUJEVAC.

A TUTTI I SOSTENITORI DELLA SOLIDARIETA' TRA I POPOLI.


Carissimi,

nonostante il grande impegno di decine di milioni di
uomini di tutte le parti della Terra che hanno elevato il loro grido
di " NO ALLA GUERRA " e che continuano a rivendicare un mondo di
" PACE ", i grandi interessi di chi vuole imporre su tutto il pianeta
il proprio dominio, hanno per il momento prevalso.
Ma noi non ci dobbiamo sentire sconfitti. Adesso più di
prima dobbiamo gridare forte per dire " BASTA GUERRA " e per portare
immediatamente aiuto alle centinaia di migliaia di esseri umani che
devono sopravvivere alle distruzioni, alla fame e alle malattie
causate dalla guerra, dobbiamo gridare forte per pretendere il
ripristino della legalità internazionale sconvolta dalla barbarie e
dalla violenza di chi ha voluto a tutti i costi questa aggressione.

La nostra Associazione, che da sempre si trova
impegnata sul fronte della opposizione alla guerra, per un mondo di
pace e giustizia, vuole dare un contributo concreto a questa lotta,
organizzando, insieme con la Camera del Lavoro di Brescia, un
incontro pubblico al quale parteciperanno due militanti del sindacato
Zastava di Kragujevac, due donne coraggiose che fin dall' aggressione
Nato di quattro anni fa alla Jugoslavia, si trovano in prima fila
nella lotta contro la liquidazione della fabbrica e nella
organizzazione delle attività di solidarietà, fungendo da connessione
essenziale tra le famiglie dei lavoratori più bisognosi e tutti i
gruppi e le associazioni italiane e internazionali che hanno in atto
programmi di solidarietà. L' assemblea, aperta a tutti, vedrà la
partecipazione di sindacalisti e delegati di tutte le categorie e
aziende che si sono attivate per andare in aiuto ai lavoratori
jugoslavi. Essa si svolgerà:


GIOVEDI 10 APRILE 2003 ORE
17

SALONE BUOZZI DELLA CAMERA DEL LAVORO DI BRESCIA

VIA F.LLI FOLONARI, NR. 20


PARTECIPERANNO ALL' INCONTRO


RAJKA VELJOVIC e MILIJA SAKOVIC
Rappresentanti dell' Ufficio Internazionale
del Sindacato Zastava di Kragujevac



=== TRIESTE 12 APRILE ===



Oggi cascano bombe preventive e liberatorie,
ieri erano umanitarie?

Sulle macerie del muro di Berlino si parlava di pace e di progresso.
Invece in tutti questi anni abbiamo visto solamente un crescendo di
guerre e di miserie: dall'Iraq all'Afghanistan alla Palestina per
tornare all'Iraq ... passando sempre per la Jugoslavia?


Testimonianze da un popolo bombardato

Incontro con:
Rajka Veljovic e Milijanka Sakovic

del Sindacato
JEDINSTVENA SINDIKALNA ORGANIZACIJA
della fabbrica Zastava di Kragujevac, Jugoslavia
bombardata dalla NATO nell'aprile 1999

sabato 12 aprile 2003 ore 16
Trieste Via Tarabochia 3

A seguire, alle ore 20.30
Cena di solidarieta'
Alla casa del popolo di Sottolongera, Via Masaccio 12, TS
Per la cena (15 euro) prenotare al numero 040572114


Organizzano:
Gruppo ZASTAVA Triestre - zastavatrieste@...
PRC Federazione di Trieste

--- In Ova adresa el. pošte je zaštićena od spambotova. Omogućite JavaScript da biste je videli., "GORA2" ha scritto:



Il piano inclinato del capitale
Crisi, competizione globale e guerre



Roma, 12-13 aprile, ore 9,30
Hotel Universo

(Via Principe Amedeo, staz. Termini)



Forum Internazionale


Prima sessione: Crisi di accumulazione e imperialismo

Relazioni di:
Alan Freeman (università di Greenwich/Londra)
Guglielmo Carchedi (università di Amsterdam)

Seconda sessione: Dalla globalizzazione alla competizione globale

Relazioni di:
Enrike Galarza (università di Irunea - Pamplona)
Marcos Costa Lima (università di Recife)

Terza sessione: La guerra preventiva. Il "Mein Kampf" di Bush

Relazioni di:
Vladimiro Giacché (economista)
Joseph Halevi (università di Sidney)



Interventi :

Andrea Catone, Maurizio Galvani, Giorgio Gattei, Domenico Losurdo,
Alessandro Mazzone, Marco Melotti, Enzo Modugno, Luciano Vasapollo



Comunicazioni:

Georgy Cipras, Maurizio Donato, Sergio Manes,Vincenzo Miliucci,
Gianfranco Pala, Osvaldo Pesce, James Petras, Hugo Ramos, Roberto
Sidoli, Fausto Sorini, Sven Tarp.



I lavori del pomeriggio di sabato verranno probabilmente sospesi per
consentire la partecipazione alla manifestazione nazionale contro la
guerra



RETE DEI COMUNISTI



Per informazioni e adesioni: cpiano@...

Tel. 06/4394750 Fax. 06/4394768


--- Fine messaggio inoltrato ---

KOSOVO: MODELLO ONU BUONO ANCHE PER IRAQ?
CHIEDIAMOLO AI GIOVANI SUICIDI.

Dalla "liberazione" (giugno 1999) fino ad oggi, il tasso dei suicidi
in Kosmet e' aumentato del 300 per cento. E le vittime di solito non
sono anziani, ne' serbi ne' rom (questi vengono piuttosto assassinati
o scacciati dal territorio), bensi' giovani di lingua albanese,
spesso abitanti delle zone dove maggiore e' l'influenza del
neonazismo dell'UCK.

---

http://www.balkantimes.com/default3.asp?
lang=english&page=process_print&article_id=19044

Suicide Rate Up in Kosovo Since War

By Natan Dotan for Southeast European Times in Pristina -- 02/04/03

According to a recent survey by American psychologist Majd Kamalmaz,
there has been a 300 per cent increase in the suicide rate in
Kosovo's Drenica district over the past three years.

Kamalmaz's research revealed that, in the 40 years before the war,
there had been only one case of suicide in the Drenica district. The
three years since the end of the war, however, have seen over 30 such
cases.

The suicides in Drenica were all of Albanian nationality and were for
the most part males between the ages of 17 and 28. While there were
two cases of older suicides -- one a 56-year-old man, the other a 70-
year-old woman -- the trend is overwhelmingly affecting the younger
generation.

According to the Diagnostic Systems Manual (DSM IV), written in the
United States by a group of psychologists, the number of registered
suicide attempts in Western countries is usually three times greater
than the number of actual suicides. This proves significantly
applicable in Kosovo, as there are several obstacles to an accurate
measurement of the number of suicides.

UNMIK police say it is difficult to register the number of suicides
because, legally, these are not considered crimes. Furthermore,
suicide attempts often go unreported; they are kept secret within
families, said police spokesman Barry Fletcher. This leads the police
to suspect that the actual number of suicides is much greater than
the number of registered cases.

Kamalmaz suggests that the increase in the suicide rate may be a
result of the post-traumatic stress that followed the war.
Exacerbated by the loss of close relatives and the material damage
and consequent decline in social and economic conditions, such stress
leads to depression and feelings of hopelessness.

"Social conditions alone do not explain a suicide," explains the
American Association of Suicidology (AAS), an American non-profit
organisation. Underlying mental problems -- likely post-traumatic
stress caused by the war in the case of Kosovo -- are the fundamental
causes.

In the past, suicide has also been kept in check by the close family
structure that is one of the unique elements of Kosovo society.

But the problem in Kosovo is that people have nowhere to go for
appropriate professional help, Kamalmaz said. He is concerned that
there has been an insufficient allocation of funds for the treatment
of mental health in Kosovo, resulting in a lack of professional staff
to deal with the issue of suicide.

According to both the AAS and DSM IV, the immediate causes of suicide
are usually depression and substance abuse. The link to substance
abuse is extremely relevant in Kosovo, as a recent WHO/UNICEF survey
revealed extremely high levels of heroin use, especially in Pristina.

The situation in Drenica calls for immediate intervention, Kamalmaz
said. One suggestion, which has seen extensive implementation in
other parts of the world, is the establishment of a phone support
line available 24 hours a day, through which people would be able to
relate problems and receive advice. Kamalmaz also suggested the
establishment of a special group of leaders, donors and experts to
target this situation.

© 2002 Southeast European Times. All Rights Reserved.




--- In Ova adresa el. pošte je zaštićena od spambotova. Omogućite JavaScript da biste je videli., "Coordinamento Nazionale per
la Jugoslavia ha scritto:

KOSOVO: PER STEINER MODELLO ONU BUONO ANCHE PER IRAQ (ANSA)

Secondo l'attuale responsabile della missione Onu (Unmik) in Kosovo
Michael Steiner, il modello adottato per la pacificazione nella
regione balcanica a maggioranza albanese e' un modello esportabile in
altre zone di crisi: eventualmente, con i dovuti aggiustamenti, anche
in Iraq a guerra finita.
Steiner si e' espresso in questo senso in un incontro con la stampa
estera svoltosi il 31/3/2003 a Berlino.
Steiner prende dunque a modello la situazione determinatasi in Kosovo
in seguito ai bombardamenti sulle industrie chimiche e sui convogli
di profughi nella primavera 1999. L'uso umanitario dell'uranio
impoverito ha effettivamente consentito una diffusa contaminazione di
tutta la regione kosovara, liberata da circa 250mila suoi abitanti
(serbi, ebrei, turchi, ed altre razze impure) a partire dal giugno
1999. Nei mesi successivi alla fine dei bombardamenti e' stata anche
iniziata la demolizione di tutte quelle vestigia storiche, religiose
e culturali che davano alla regione una impronta inopportunamente
multietnica (proprio come l'Iraq di Saddam).
Il Kosovo finalmente liberato ospita oggi alcune decine di migliaia
di amici stranieri che generosamente impiegano tempo e danaro a
garantire che nell'area ci sia la democrazia. Monumentali strutture,
come la immensa base di Camp Bondsteel, danno lavoro a tanti giovani,
che altrimenti sarebbero stati costretti a lavorare fianco a fianco
con persone di etnia non albanese, dunque complici di Milosevic.
All'uopo, Unmik e KFOR hanno provveduto a bloccare la produzione e ad
espropriare i principali complessi industriali e minerari della
regione, come quello di Trepca, in attesa di cederli gratis a
benefattori stranieri.
La odierna leadership politica del Kosovo libero ruota attorno ai
nonviolenti di Ibrahim Rugova (che a meta' febbraio si e' detto
favorevole alla aggressione USA contro il popolo iracheno) e dai
violenti dell'ex-UCK, a loro volta legati ai fiorenti traffici di
droga, armi e prostituzione, grazie ai quali prospera l'economia di
tutta la regione, un tempo vittima del comunismo. L'Occidente fa
particolare affidamento proprio su questi leader democratici, gia'
protagonisti dei pogrom contro la razza slava: Ceku, Thaci, Ahmeti,
sono alcuni di loro... E' su questi nomi che l'Occidente fa
affidamento per costruire una Grande Albania libera e democratica dai
Milosevic di turno; e' su personalita' analoghe che l'Occidente
scommettera' per regalare alla popolazione irachena un futuro di
miseria, divisione su basi razziali, occupazione militare, violenza
e, soprattutto, democrazia.

Fonte: ANSA Balcani
http://www.ansa.it/balcani/fattidelgiorno/
200303312043103611/200303312043103611.shtml

--- Fine messaggio inoltrato ---

MUJAHEDDIN DA EST AD OVEST, E RITORNO

Il presidente della Commissione Difesa della Duma russa dice di avere
informazioni affidabili in base alle quali mercenari originari della
Bosnia sarebbero attivi in Cecenia per contribuire alla comune lotta
contro l'"oppressore" slavo-ortodosso.

Nel frattempo, i capi della "guerriglia" cecena hanno espresso il
loro appoggio alla aggressione statunitense contro l'Iraq; viceversa,
in Bosnia i settori islamisti sono un po' confusi, oscillando ancora
tra l'influenza di Bin Laden e quella di Adriano Sofri. (I.S.)


http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2003/04/1-RUS/rus-020403.asp

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
April 2, 2003

ARE BOSNIAN 'MERCENARIES' FIGHTING IN CHECHNYA?

Speaking at a Moscow briefing for military attaches on
1 April, Duma Defense Committee Chairman Andrei
Nikolaev (People's Deputy) said Moscow has "reliable
information" that "mercenaries" from Bosnia are now
fighting against federal forces in Chechnya, Interfax
reported. He did not say how many people are allegedly
involved. Experts note that the unemployment rate in
Bosnia is over 30 percent, and that many of the
unemployed are young men with no marketable skills,
but that Bosnian Muslims are more likely to fight as
volunteers for the Chechen cause on religious grounds
than as mercenaries. LF

(segnalazione: R. Rozoff)

Colin Powell: "Finalmente in Serbia si rispettano i diritti umani"

1. NUOVI CLAMOROSI ARRESTI POLITICI:
IN MANETTE L'EX CAPO DI STATO MAGGIORE DELL'ESERCITO E L'EX DIRETTORE
DELLA TELEVISIONE NAZIONALE

2. PIENO APPOGGIO DAGLI USA:
COLIN POWELL IN VISITA A BELGRADO

3. PIENO APPOGGIO DALL'EUROPA: SERBIA E MONTENEGRO ENTRANO NEL
CONSIGLIO D'EUROPA (COME STATO UNICO O COME DUE STATI SEPARATI?)


=== 1 ===

NUOVI CLAMOROSI ARRESTI

POLICE TAKE IN FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF NEBOJSA PAVKOVIC

BELGRADE, April 2 (Beta) - On April 1, the police took in for
questioning the former Yugoslav army chief of staff, Gen. Nebojsa
Pavkovic, and, for the second time, Yugoslav Left party senior
official Ivan Markovic, as part of the investigation into the March
12 murder of Serbian premier Zoran Djindjic, BETA has learned from
sources in the police.
Pavkovic was the Yugoslav army chief of staff during the Slobodan
Milosevic era, and for several months after Milosevic's regime was
toppled, on Oct. 5, 2000. He was also a presidential candidate at the
elections in Serbia last year. Ivan Markovic has already been brought
in once on March 29, but was released immediately after the
questioning.

FORMER NATIONAL TELEVISION DIRECTOR ARRESTED

BELGRADE, April 2 (Beta) - On April 2, the police arrested the former
general manager of Serbian Radio and Television (RTS), Dragoljub
Milanovic, who is responsible for the death of 16 television workers
in the NATO bombing in 1999 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
After failing to report to prison officials Milanovic ran away and
was hiding in a weekend house in Montenegro, 12 kilometers from the
Albanian border.
Quoting police sources, RTS said that "a comprehensive
investigation into Premier Djindjic's assassination has shown that
Milanovic was guarded by the Zemun clan," suspected of organizing
Djindjic's assassination in Belgrade, March 12 and a number of other
crimes over the previous years. The government said that Milanovic
was taken to Montenegro by members of the Zemun clan, who also
revealed his hideout.
The Belgrade District Court sentenced Dragoljub Milanovic to 10
years in prison, holding him responsible for the death of 16
television workers killed in the bombing on April 23 1999. The trial
chamber, however, released Milanovic until his verdict took effect,
despite the severity of his crime.

=== 2 ===

PIENO APPOGGIO DAGLI USA:
COLIN POWELL IN VISITA A BELGRADO

US AMBASSADOR: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SUPPORTS SERBIA

BELGRADE, April 1 (Tanjug) - US Ambassador to Serbia
and Montenegro William Montgomery said Tuesday that the
international community supports the Serbian government's fight
against organized crime, indicating that it will meet with a
resounding response in the world, improving in that way the image of
Serbia. Speaking to participants in the summit on competitiveness,
Montgomery said that the United States supports the Serbian
government in its efforts to stabilize the situation in the state
following the murder of Premier Zoran Djindjic.
He said October 5 (2000) was in their hearts. Serbia
has succeeded to make large strides since October 5 and Serbia will
be lauded for its efforts in the fight against organized
crime, Montgomery said. Montgomery said that Serbia has sufficient
qualified human resources to become a leader in the region, in which
a free market will be created with some 60 million consumers.
However, he warned, that potential does not mean capital and a lot of
work still needs to be done in that respect.
Serbia has strong companies that are competitive and the
United States will support that, Montgomery promised and added that
Serbia has to make a concept of competitiveness in order to
attract investments and encourage exports. The United States and
the international community support Serbia every step of the way and
wish it success, Montgomery said.

Serbia-Montenegro president confers with US secretary of state

BELGRADE, Apr 2 (Tanjug) - Serbia-Montenegro President Svetozar
Marovic said Wednesday evening he sees the visit by US Secretary of
State Colin Powell as a gesture of support to the reforms underway.
During his meeting with Powell, Marovic expressed his
optimism regarding the success of reforms in SCG, especially
concerning fostering of cooperation with the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the reform of the SCG Army as
a pre-condition for accelerating accession to Partnership for Peace.
He expressed hope that trade relations between the US and SCG will
soon be fully normalized.
Marovic underlined the SCG economic interest in taking part in
Iraq's reconstruction after the conflict ends, in order to help the
Iraqi people.
According to a statement issued by Marovic's office, Powell
said his visit to Belgrade constitutes an expression of US support to
its reform program and its determination to fight crime and
corruption.
Powell also supported the endeavors for normalizing bilateral
trade relations and underlined that the Pentagon and NATO would
support the SCG Army transformation.

POWELL: U.S. TO DO EVERYTHING TO ASSIST SERBIA&MONTENEGRO

BELGRADE, April 2 (Beta) - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell
said in Belgrade on April 2, that his country would do everything to
assist Serbia and Montenegro to become an integral part of Europe.
Powell said he hoped that the country's leadership would intensify
cooperation with The Hague based tribunal next month.
"I came to Belgrade tonight to extend strong U.S. support to
Serbia and Montenegro following the assassination of Premier
Djindjic, who was my friend, and whom I admired as a leader who
wishing only the best for his people," Powell said at a press
conference after meeting with Serbian Premier Zoran Zivkovic.
Powell also said that he is "delighted" with what he had heard
from his counterparts in Belgrade, primarily regarding the commitment
to proceed with reforms.
"The successful suppression of organized crime and the reforms of the
army will improve cooperation with The Hague based tribunal, which is
an important element of the country's international obligations.
After fulfilling these obligations, the community of Serbia and
Montenegro can expect to join the Partnership for Peace Program and
the EU," stressed the U.S. secretary of state.
Powell added he hoped the country would make considerable progress
in its cooperation with the tribunal in the next few months, which
primarily refers to the arrest and extradition of indictees.
In his words, General Ratko Mladic and the "Vukovar Troika," the
former Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) officers, Veselin Sljivancanin
and Miroslav Radic, were discussed during the meetings. Powell
stressed that he was leaving Belgrade with a very good impression
that the country's officials were committed to bringing these people
to justice.
Serbian Premier Zoran Zivkovic said that during the meeting he had
expressed his determination to proceed with the reforms and announced
a more intense fight against crime. He also said the Serbian
authorities would step up cooperation with the tribunal, adding that
he hoped cooperation would "end in a short period of time."
Zivkovic thanked Powell on his personal contribution to the U.S.
assistance to Serbia, saying: "I can assure the State Secretary that
Serbia will be a reliable partner of the U.S."

Status of human rights in SCG satisfactory

WASHINGTON, April 2 (Tanjug) - On the overall, the status
of human rights in Serbia is satisfactory, it is underlined in
the regular annual report by the U.S. Department of State, which
also concludes that some problems inherited from the rule of Slobodan
Milosevic remain unsolved, but that they are on the way to be
resolved.
The regular report on human rights in the world was presented
to the public by Secretary of State Colin Powell on Tuesday.
The part referring to Serbia and Montenegro says that there
are still cases of maltreatment and beating of citizens by
police, although the situation has improved since the adoption of the
Law on criminal procedure.
As for the co-operation with the Hague Tribunal, the
Department of State underlines in its report that a certain progress
had been made, but that the Tribunal is still dissatisfied with
the co-operation level. Powell underlined that certain progress had
been made in Kosovo as well, but that some of the serious issues
remain outstanding. This, primarily, applies to freedom of movement
of the minority population, mostly Serbs.
A certain progress was recorded in some parts of Kosovo late
2002, the report says, adding that the overall situation remains
unsatisfactory. It is also pointed out that an insignificant number
of refugees and displaced persons had returned to their homes, which,
according to the report, is due to the concern of refugees for their
safety and freedom of movement, as well as their inability to find
employment.
In the part of the report that refers to Montenegro, it is
underlined that Montenegro's government had mostly respected human
rights over the past year, but that some problems, primarily in
the administration of justice, are still present.

New US fund for aid to Balkans will be based in Belgrade

WASHINGTON, Apr 2 (Tanjug) - USAID, the German Marshall Fund
and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation announced Wednesday the
creation of a Balkan fund for democracy development, through which
about 25 million dollars will be provided as support to governments
in southeastern Europe.
The fund will be based in Belgrade and will start operating
in the summer. Its beneficiaries will be Albania, Bosnia,
Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia and Montenegro.
About two million dollars will be allocated annually to local and
regional non-governmental organizations, educational institutions and
media, to help foster relations between citizens and local
authorities, and the fund will also support cross-border cooperation
in the region in order to secure lasting stability.
USAID and GMF will allocate 10 million dollars each to the
fund and Mott Foundation 5 million, and contributions from other
donors are expected when the fund becomes operational.

USAID to earmark 150 million dollars to Serbia-Montenegro

BELGRADE, April 2 (Tanjug) - The United States development
agency USAID will in 2003 aid Serbia-Montenegro with about 150
million dollars intended for the development of the economic policy,
democracy, a civic society and local self-rule, USAID Belgrade office
head James Stevenson said on Wednesday.
Of this sum, Serbia will get 110 million dollars and Montenegro
40 million, Stevenson told the press. Underscoring that
the Competitiveness Summit in Belgrade's Sava Congressional Centre
is part of this aid, he announced new USAID projects for
Serbia-Montenegro over the next few years worth several hundreds
million dollars.
So far, USAID has targeted on the producers of raspberries and
furniture in Serbia within the support for stepping up the level of
competitiveness of the domestic economy, Stevenson said.

=== 3 ===

PIENO APPOGGIO DALL'EUROPA:
SERBIA E MONTENEGRO ENTRANO NEL CONSIGLIO D'EUROPA (COME STATO UNICO
O COME DUE STATI SEPARATI?)

Serbia-Montenegro admitted into Council of Europe

STRASBOURG, April 3 (Tanjug) - Serbia and Montenegro on Wednesday
became a 45th member of the Council of Europe, and its flag flew
outside the Strasbourg headquarters of this oldest European
institution.
In scope of the admission ceremony, Serbia-Montenegro
President Svetozar Marovic handed over corresponding documentation
on acceptance of the CE Statute, while Foreign Minister Goran
Svilanovic signed a statement on acceptance of the European
convention on human rights.
After that, while the national anthem was played, the Serbia-
Montenegro flag was raised outside the headquarters in Strasbourg.
Serbia-Montenegro parliament speaker Dragoljub Micunovic,
who is at the head of the country's delegation, will address the
CE parliamentary assembly.
Council of Europe Secretary General Walter Schwimmer said at
the beginning of the ceremony that up to now, a link had been missing
in South East Europe, but that that was not the case any more. He
promised that the CE would help Serbia and Montenegro go on, and
added that he wished to see a live society which would be capable of
coming into grips with the past, so as to be able to look into the
future. Schwimmer ended his speech in Serbian language by
saying "Serbia and Montenegro, welcome home." Serbia-Montenegro
President Svetozar Marovic said that it had been confirmed that
Serbia and Montenegro would become a full-fledged member of the
European union, and pointed out that Serbia and Montenegro
wanted peace, democracy and integration into Europe.
Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic said that the admission into the CE
was not any easy one, and that all who had been working on it should
be remembered.
Referring to the murder of Serbian premier Zoran Djindjic, chairman
of the Parliamentary Assembly of the CE, Peter Schieder, said
that the remains of the Slobodan Milosevic's regime would not succeed
in destroying what the democratic authorities of Serbia and
Montenegro had done.

ADMISSION INTO CE SIGN WE ARE ON RIGHT TRACK, SERBIA-MONTENEGRO
FOREIGN MINISTER

STRASBOURG, April 3 (Tanjug) - For the people of Serbia and
Montenegro the admission into the Council of Europe is an important
sign that their country is on the right track, Serbia-Montenegro
Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic said on Thursday, and added that
that was a first major step of Serbia and Montenegro on its road
towards a full integration into European structures.
During a speech at the ceremony of the admission of Serbia and
Montenegro as a 45th member of the CE, Svilanovic expressed his
certainty that a membership in that, most eminent European
organisation, would make the foundations of democracy in Serbia and
Montenegro stronger.
Reminding of the fact that Serbia and Montenegro had been waiting
for a long time to take its seat in the CE, Svilanovic said that the
admission had not come easily, and that it was a "result of the hard
struggle for liberty, human rights and the rule of law."
"We should remember and pay respect to all those individuals in
Serbia and Montenegro who invested everything, including their lives,
in that struggle," the Serbia-Montenegro foreign minister said, and
added that "this struggle for freedom is not over, is never over,
although perhaps we have overcome the greatest obstacles."
Svilanovic promised that Serbia and Montenegro would "fully comply
with its membership obligations and commitments," and pointed out
that "a lot has been achieved in strengthening democracy, respect for
human rights and the rule of law in Serbia and Montenegro," but also
that "still, a lot has to be done."
"Thus, we are grateful for the assistance to be provided by the
Council of Europe in the post-accession monitoring programme," Goran
Svilanovic said. Svilanovic also pointed out that "we, Europeans,
share the same values and the same destiny," and reminded of the fact
that when the Council of Europe had been first set up, memories and
horrors of the Second World War had been still fresh, as well as that
a "willingness to protect and realize the European values helped
overcome these wounds."
"Today, for the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, memories and
horrors of war are still fresh and not healed," Svilanovic said, and
stressed that "only by fully embracing European values we may
overcome these wounds," as well as that " only by facing the past we
may realise our future dreams."
"Thus, it is the responsibility and duty of all governments to
bring war criminals to justice, before the International Criminal
Tribunal and before the national courts," the Serbia-Montenegro
foreign minister said, and reminded of the words of Sir Winston
Churchill, one of the founding fathers of the CE, i.e. "Let there be
justice, mercy and freedom. The peoples have only to will it, and all
will achieve their hearts' desire." The "people of Serbia and
Montenegro, like everyone else, wish to leave in peace and
prosperity, in security and freedom. The glorious expression of this
desire was October 2000, when a regime of war and poverty was
overthrown," Svilanovic pointed out, and stessed that the "membership
in the Council of Europe comes as a recognition of the common
European destiny for Serbia and Montenegro."

Da "Vesti", quotidiano della diaspora serba,
Francoforte, 2 aprile 2003.

Le avventure amorose del capo dell'UNMIK, tema principale della
cronaca rosa nel Kosovo.
(piu' sotto in lingua italiana)

Ljubavne avanture sefa UNMIK glavan tema kosovskih kuloara.

BUKURIJIN ZAGRLJAJ KOBAN ZA SRBE

Gotovo svi kosovski krugovi tvrde da veza Michaela Steinera sa
Albankom Bukurijom Djonbalaj moze da preraste i u brak. Nisam sigurna
koliko je Steiner u stanju da u Bukurijinom zagrljaju razmislja o
srpskim interesima, kaze poslanik "Povratka" Rada Trajkovic.
Propaganda
Bukurija je poznata po organizovanju propagandnih konvoja u kojima je
okupljala diplomate nevladine organizacije i novinare, i zajedno sa
njima obilazila navodno ugrozene Albance, afirmisuci pritom "borbu
OVK i vecitu teznju kosovskih Albanaca za nezavisnost".
Kumovi Dzejmija Seja
Porodica Djonbalaj poznata je lokalnom auditorijumu, a i sire po
veoma jakim politickim vezama sirom sveta, sto pokazuje cinjenica da
je Bukurijin brat Afrim kum sa Dejmijem Sejom, portparolom NATO u
vreme bombardovanja Jugoslavije. Bukurija je, navodno, zahvaljujuci
tim vezama posle kratkog rada u pristinskom "Koha ditore" presla u
RTV Kosovo, gde se munjevitom
brzinom nasla u bordu direktora.

L'ABBRACCIO DI BUKURIJA FATALE PER I SERBI

Quasi tutti nel giro albanese kosovaro affermano che la relazione di
Michael Steiner con la albanese Bukurija Djonbaliaj può finire
col matrimonio. Non sono sicura di quanto Steiner nell'abbraccio di
Bukurija possa pensare agli interessi serbi, dice la deputata
di "Povratak" (Ritorno), Rada Trajkovic.
Propaganda
Bukurija Djonbaliaj è conosciuta per aver organizzato convogli di
propaganda. Invitando rappresentanti di ONG e giornalisti, visitava i
cosiddetti oppressi albanesi kosovari, promuovendo così "la lotta
dell'UCK e l'insistente richiesta degli albanesi kosovari per
l'indipendenza".
Padrini di Jamie Shea
La famiglia Djonbaliaj è conosciuta all'auditorio locale, ma anche
altrove, per aver forti legami politici nel mondo, il che viene
confermato dal fatto che il fratello di Bukurija, Afrim Djonbaliaj è
padrino di Jamie Shea, il portavoce della NATO durante i
bombardamenti contro la Jugoslavia. Bukurija, sicuramente anche per
questa ragione, dopo un breve periodo di lavoro passato al
quotidiano "Koha ditore" è passata alla RTV Kosovo, e poi,
con una velocità strepitosa, si è trovata nel ruolo di direttrice.

(Traduzione a cura del CNJ)