IWPR #107, 14/01/2000 -------------------------
ACCUSE DI COLLUSIONE CON IL CRIMINE ORGANIZZATO
PER LA DESTRA DI GOVERNO DELLA MACEDONIA
CRIME AND POLITICS IN MACEDONIA
Opposition politicians and media have intensified accusations of
government
collusion with organised crime in Macedonia following the murder of
three
police officers on routine patrol.
By Zeljko Bajic in Skopje
During a routine patrol January 11, four Macedonian police officers
stopped
three cars in Aracinovo, a mainly ethnic Albanian village. While they
were
checking the first vehicle, the occupants of the other two cars opened
fire
with automatic weapons, killing three of the officers instantly. The
fourth
managed to escape with gunshot wounds.
The police authorities believe the cars were stolen and that the
occupants
were delivering them to Kosovo. The Macedonian media is full of
speculation
that the killers belonged to an Albanian criminal gang. Three ethnic
Albanian suspects have been named as Ibrahim Musa from Aracinovo, Nijazi
N.
from Skopje and Ibrahim N. from Kacanik. The village of Aracinovo has
long
been suspected of housing a roaring trade in smuggled cigarettes,
narcotics,
weapons and cars.
Leading Albanian and Macedonian politicians quickly issued conciliatory
public statements, in light of intensified public fear that the incident
will dramatically worsen the already tense relations between the ethnic
Macedonian and Albanian populations. It is only the latest in a string
of
violent incidents involving the police in which ethnic Albanians have
been
killed.
Arben Xhaferi, leader of the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA) and the
dominant force in ethnic Albanian politics, stressed that the killings
should not become a political issue, and that the police should be
allowed
to complete their investigation. This view was re-iterated by Prime
Minister
Ljupco Georgievski, leader of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary
Organisation-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity
(VMRO-DPMNE),
the leading member of the governing coalition.
Such a common position is notable in Macedonia, especially light of
previous
charges by the DPA that any accusations against Albanians for alleged
mafia
links are motivated by ethnic chauvinism.
The police statement following the incident was also notable.
Previously,
police authorities, which have always been closely tied to the political
interests of the ruling party, have placed blame elsewhere for violent
incidents. The current minister for police, Dosta Dimovska, is a
VMRO-DPMNE
party ideologue, who recently replaced Pavle Trajanov, the only
non-party
official to hold the top police post since Macedonia gained
independence.
Yet in a statement after the incident, the police accepted
responsibility
for the officers' deaths in the bungled raid. Macedonian radio reported
that
there might have been a leak from within the police alerting the
criminals
that a police inspection was imminent.
Nevertheless, politically independent media in Macedonia, such as
Dnevnik
daily, have accused the authorities of creating a party political police
force rather than an independent and professional one.
Other media have seen the Aracinovo case not as a harbinger of worsening
inter-ethnic relations but as proof of a dangerous and growing link
between
crime and politics. The Skopje independent daily Makedonija Denes, which
is
sympathetic to the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, has published a
complex analysis arguing that Macedonia is being increasingly drawn down
criminal paths leading to Kosovo, which it called "a black hole and home
to
the most shady deals in this part of the Balkans".
The paper accused the ruling coalition of controlling the profits and
flow
of money generated by such "shady deals". It alleged that there are
clearly
established rules governing who controls the smuggling of cigarettes,
who
enables narcotics trafficking and who participates in illegal arms
trade.
According to Makedonija Denes, about 70 per cent of illegal trades can
be
ascribed to the DPA, while the rest of the profit go into the pockets of
the
VMRO-DPMNE.
Similar accusations could be heard during the last session of parliament
just before New Year. The opposition Social Democratic Alliance accused
the
ruling coalition of reaching a "gentlemen's-mafia agreement" to prevent
internal, violent feuds. Opposition newspapers such as Start and
Utrinjski
Vesnik claimed that this agreement ensured that where the VMRO-DPMNE
dominated illegal business the DPA would not interfere, and vice-versa.
Opposition parties persistently accuse Georgievski of forming a
coalition
with a party, the DPA, which they allege is financed by the Albanian
mafia.
If it emerges that the mafia is behind the killings of the three police
officers in Aracinovo, such accusations of mafia links could put DPA
leader
Xhaferi in a very tight position. Having smugly declared during the
Kosovo
crisis that it was "keeping the situation under control" - that is,
firmly
monitoring Albanian radicalism and ties to Kosovo - the DPA will have a
difficult time convincing the media and the public that it does not know
what is going on in villages such as Aracinovo now.
Meantime, the lack of an adequate police and judicial system in Kosovo
only
encourages the rising crime rate in Macedonia. Despite the arrival of
KFOR
troops in Kosovo, civilian authority is still not functioning
effectively.
An effective international authority in Kosovo would provide a great
boost
for the Macedonian security services.
As it is, Kosovo remains open for unregulated and illegal business,
while
Macedonia's role as a key organising and transit point for criminal
activity
has grown. Thus, even if the Macedonian police were seriously to take on
the
forces of organised crimes, they are left to their own devices and have
little chance of success.
Zeljko Bajic is a journalist in Skopje.
B92 14/01/2000 ---------------------------
ESTESO IL MANDATO DELLA MISSIONE ONU SULLA
PENISOLA JUGOSLAVA DI PREKLAVA, AL CONFINE
CON LA CROAZIA
Prevlaka mission mandate extended
NEW YORK, Friday - The UN Security Council has extended the mandate of
the UN
monitoring mission on the Prevlaka Peninsula for another six months. The
mission, which monitors the disputed border between Yugoslavia and
Croatia on
the Adriatic Coast will now remain until at least July 15 this year. The
Security Council also called on Croatia and Yugoslavia to urgently
engage in
negotiations to resolve the border dispute.
B92 07/01/2000 ---------------------------
IL MINISTRO DEGLI ESTERI CECO SI CONSIDERA
INNOCENTE PER I CRIMINI DELLA NATO
I don't feel guilty: Czech foreign minister
PRAGUE, Friday - Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kavan told media last night
that
he felt no guilt for the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, despite a proposal
by a
group of lawyers to charge 68 world leaders with war crimes over the
intervention. Kavan, who is charged along with Czech President Vaclav
Havel
said that his conscience was clear over all he had done during the
Kosovo
crisis, adding that he did not believe the Hague Tribunal would issue
indictments.
MANCA L'ACQUA IN JUGOSLAVIA
Yugoslavia facing water shortages
BELGRADE, Friday - More than a million people in Yugoslavia could be
without
water in the near future because of water table contamination caused by
NATO
bombing, Serbian Environment Ministry representative Gordana Brun said
today.
Oil released in attacks on storage depots was slowly seeping into the
water
table and could lead to massive contamination, said Brun, adding that
the
danger of contamination was particularly serious in the area of Novi
Sad,
capital of the northern province of Vojvodina.
SCISMA ALL'INCONTRARIO (FILO-VATICANO)
PER LA CHIESA ORTODOSSA MONTENEGRINA
Police ban Montenegrin Church service
PODGORICA, Friday - Police in the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica last
night
prevented members of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church from carrying out a
traditional ritual in front of the Court of King Nikola as part of last
night's Orthodox Christmas Eve ceremonies. Police later gave security as
the
reason for the ban, saying that priests and faithful of the majority
Serbian
Orthodox Church were inside the Court Chapel. After failing to persuade
police to allow the ceremony to go ahead, Montenegrin church members
performed the traditional ritual of burning oak branches in front of
police
cordons. Members of the Social Democratic Party, part of the
Montenegro's
governing coalition, attended the ceremony. Party President Zarko
Rakcevic
described the police intervention as a scandal, saying that he would
raise
the matter with the party's central committee.
PROTESTA DEI SERBI IN KOSMET
Serbs protest in Kosovo
PRISTINA, Friday - Angry Serbs from Bresje, near Kosovo Polje, today
threatened to block the main highway between Pristina and Pec. The
villagers
were protesting at an incident last night in which four Albanians gunned
down
local Serb Momcilo Velickovic in the courtyard of his home. Velickovic
was
reported today to be in a critical condition, awaiting transfer to Nis
hospital following surgery in a Russian mobile surgical unit.
Two Serb women were murdered by Albanian extremists in Prizren this
morning,
according to the local Centre for Peace and Tolerance. State media
report
that the two women were killed on their way to Christmas services at a
local
church. They are believed to have been Croatian Serb refugees from
Krajina.
In other incidents in Kosovo, Pristina correspondent Danijel Kovacevic
reports that a 39-year-old Serb woman was killed near Pec, and another
Serb
murdered in Kosovo Polje yesterday. Kovacevic also reports another three
Serbs beaten last night in Lipljane on their way to Christmas Eve
services at
a local church. KFOR reports today that ten people were arrested in
Kosovo
yesterday for illegal possession of weapons.
IL VINCITORE DELLE ELEZIONI CROATE IVICA RACAN
SEGUE LE ORME DEL SUO PREDECESSORE NELLA POLITICA DI
CATTIVO VICINATO CON LE ALTRE REPUBBLICHE EX-FEDERATE
Croatian PM designate against new Balkan federations
ZAGREB, Friday - The man elected to lead Croatia's new government, Ivica
Racan, said today that he would resist the Balkan element in Croatia's
political life. Racan said he would support cooperation and good
relations
with Croatia's neighbours, but was against any new federation of Balkan
countries because Croatia, which was at the same time a Mediterranean,
Middle
European and Balkan state, did not need "that kind of Balkans". The
prime-minister-to-be emphasised that his government was not running away
from
the region but was opposed to any union of a neo-Yugoslav nature.
B92 05/01/2000 --------------------
TRA QUALCHE SETTIMANA IL MONTENEGRO
ABBANDONERA' IL DINARO
Montenegro to drop dinar within weeks
PODGORICA, Wednesday - The Yugoslav dinar will no longer be official
currency
in Montenegro by the end of this month, a member of the Montenegrin
Monetary
Council said today. Dimitrije Vesovic told Podgorica daily "Pobjeda"
that the
withdrawal of the dinar was no longer a political decision but was
dictated
by practice, as there are no longer dinars in circulation in Montenegro
and
the money mass had been reduced to tens of millions of dinars. Vesovic
also
said that draft plans for establishment of the Montenegrin National Bank
were
in preparation and would be tabled in the republic's parliament.
RIPETUTE AZIONI DEI TERRORISTI NATO/UCK
FUORI DAL KOSMET, VERSO LA SERBIA CENTRALE
South Serbia "under attack"
KURSUMLIJA, Wednesday - Villagers from the southern Serbian municipality
of
Kursumlija today announced that they would organise a civil defence
force if
the number of police on the Kosovo border were not increased. Milos
Kujovic,
from the village of Matarovo, told Beta agency that a large group of
Albanians had attacked the village from across the border on December
12.
Kursumlija Municipal President Borivoje Urosevic told media that six
people
from the municipality had been killed in incidents on the Kosovo border,
adding that he had several times warned the Serbian government that
Kursumlija was still at war.
PRESA A BASTONATE ANZIANA SERBA-KOSOVARA
Elderly Serb woman beaten
KOSOVO POLJE - An elderly Serb woman who was beaten by a group of
Albanian
boys in Kosovo Polje did not report the attack to UN police for fear of
reprisals, the local Centre for Peace and Tolerance told media today.
The
centre statement added that a number of attacks, threats and burglaries
in
the area had gone unreported for the same reason.
The head of the United Nations civilian mission in Kosovo, Bernard
Kouchner,
is expected to discuss the security situation in Kosovo this evening
with
Serb leaders at the Gracanica monastery. The agenda will include the
possibility of establishing local self-management of Serb enclaves in
the
province.
YDS 04/01/2000 ----------------------------------
IL MINISTRO PER I PROFUGHI DELLA RFJ: I RIFUGIATI
VERRANNO RIMPATRIATI QUEST'ANNO
MINISTER MORINA: REFUGEES WILL BE REPATRIATED IN 2000
NIS, January 3 (Tanjug) - Yugoslav Minister for Refugee Affairs
expressed
hope on Monday that the political and overall situation in Yugoslavia
and
the region would be stabilised in the year 2000, allowing for the
repatriation of refugees and displaced people.
"I am sure the present dramatic situation in Kosovo and Metohija will
change and the truth and justice prevail, to allow for the return of
around
300,000 displaced people, driven from their ancestral hearths by ethnic
Albanian terrorists and extremists," Minister Bratislava Morina told
TANJUG.
Morina stressed the importance of implementing U.N. Resolution 1244,
which
was being violated precisely by the forces deployed to ensure peace,
security and equality for all ethnic communities in Kosovo and Metohija.
"I expect U.N. civilian mission (UNMIK) chief Bernard Kouchner to be
replaced soon and leave the southern Serbian province, where he has made
chaos and allowed the ethnic Albanian chauvinists to achieve their dream
of
an ethnically pure Kosovo and Metohija," she said.
ODALOVIC: SAREBBE ORA CHE LA COMUNITA' INTERNAZIONALE
FACESSE IL SUO DOVERE IN KOSOVO E METOHIJA
ODALOVIC: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MUST DO ITS DUTY IN KOSMET
JAGODINA, January 3 (Tanjug) - A Kosovo and Metohija Serbian assembly
official said on Monday that the international community must in the
year
2000 fully discharge its obligations undertaken in connection with that
U.N.-administered Serbian province.
Veljko Odalovic, who heads the Executive Board of the Serbian National
Assembly for Kosovo and Metohija, was speaking by phone for a local
television station in Jagodina, central Serbia.
Odalovic said the international community must guarantee the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of Yugoslavia and Serbia, and make it clear to
ethnic Albanian separatists that they will not be allowed to snatch away
Kosovo and Metohija.
"I hope the international community will realise the madness of its
policy
towards Serbia and Yugoslavia, and especially what is being done in
Kosovo
and Metohija, and that the violence of ethnic Albanian separatists which
has gone on under the wing of the international KFOR force and the U.N.
civilian mission (UNMIK) in the second half of 1999 will stop," he said.
The job the peace mission has done in Kosovo and Metohija so far has
left
the impression that it has been feeding the hope of separatist gangs
that
they can with violence create a state of their own in Kosovo and
Metohija,
according to Odalovic.
Since the U.N. forces' deployment, hundreds of people have been murdered
and abducted, hundreds of thousands have been displaced, tens of
thousands
of homes have been plundered and torched, he said.
This is "the only concrete result achieved by KFOR and UNMIK in Kosovo
and
Metohija," according to Odalovic.
He hoped that "displaced Serbs and other non-Albanians, as well as
displaced ethnic Albanians will this year start back for their homes and
jobs in Kosovo and Metohija, which they have been forced to leave since
mid-June under threat from ethnic Albanian terrorists".
Responsibility for their return should be taken by the U.N. forces which
had been deployed to Kosovo and Metohija with the mandate of providing
security for all living there, he stressed.
DUE MILIONI DI RIFUGIATI IN EUROPA
EUROPE IS FACED WITH TWO MILLION REFUGEES
BELGRADE, January 4 (Tanjug) - Two million refugees and displaced
persons
from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and the Yugoslav republic of Serbia's
Kosovo and Metohija province will spend 2000, the last year of this
century, far from their homes and scattered throughout the states
emerging
from the former Yugoslavia, in the heart of Europe.
Half of the figure are Serb refugees and displaced persons from
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia (700,000) and Kosovo and Metohija
(300,000)
who have sought shelter in Yugoslavia which has for years been under the
regime of sanctions imposed by world power-wielders and which was
devastated still further during NATO's 78-day bombing campaign.
Yugoslavia is the only state in Europe where at least 500,000 refugees
have been sheltering at some point or another over the past eight years.
The country was faced with the biggest wave of refugees following the
outbreak of civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1992. Between 800,000 and
one million refugees sought shelter in Yugoslavia between early 1992 and
late 1993.
>From that point on, the country has been spending five percent of its
gross domestic product annually to provide refugees with accommodation,
food, clothing, footwear, health care and education.
International humanitarian organisations justified their belated action
by
a media campaign which was aimed at creating the impression that only
Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina were burdened with refugees and which
ignored those who had sought refuge in Yugoslavia.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the E.U. humanitarian
bureau (ECHO), the World Food Programme and the International Federation
of
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) offered assistance to
refugees
in Yugoslavia as late as late 1993 and 1994. Following a brief lull in
fighting in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1993, new clashes between Moslems and
Croats broke out in 1994 but the international community was incapable
of
finding a real solution to stabilise the situation in the former
Yugoslav
republic and the entire region.
Operation Lightning that the Croatian army launched against Western
Slavonia on May 1, 1995, and Operation Storm, launched against Krajina
on
August 5, 1995, triggered another exodus of Serbs, tens of thousands of
them, mainly women, children and the elderly, who were shelled
continually
for seven days while trying to reach safety. Moreover, thousands of
Serbs
were killed during the Croatian army's two military campaigns.
At this point, only several thousand elderly Serbs live in Banija, Lika,
Kordun and northern Dalmatia, while as many as 300,000 Serbs from these
areas have sought shelter in Yugoslavia. More than 2,000 Serbs were
listed
missing during Operation Lightning and Operation Storm.
The exodus of Serbs was not over, however. Peace accords for
Bosnia-Herzegovina signed in Dayton and Paris in 1995 triggered another
wave of refugees from four Sarajevo districts that were given to the
Moslem-Croat federation under the accords.
Fifty thousand Serb refugees sought shelter in Yugoslavia after that,
while about 30,000 Serbs fled Sarajevo for the (Bosnian Serb) Republika
Srpska.
The international community's failure over the years to recognise the
fact
that at least 700,000 refugees and displaced persons are sheltering in
Yugoslavia and its favouring of refugees sheltering in
Bosnia-Herzegovina
and Croatia, prompted Belgrade to request that UNHCR conduct the
registration of refugees sheltering in the country.
The registration, which UNHCR carried out together with the Serbian
Refugee Commissioner in 1996, showed that 617,728 refugees and displaced
persons had regulated their status in Yugoslavia, while another 120,005
persons had applied to be registered as refugees.
Serbs account for nearly 500,000 of the total figure of refugees
sheltering in the country, Croats for 4,000, Moslems for 4,847, those
who
declare themselves as Yugoslavs for 7,900 and others for about 24,000.
The
registration of refugees in Yugoslavia, however, did not lead to bigger
humanitarian assistance. Quite the opposite was the case.
Consequently, in 1996, international humanitarian organisations provided
assistance to only 250,000 refugees in Yugoslavia who were in the most
critical position, including children under 18, people over 65, mothers
with children, chronically-ill and handicapped people and invalids.
According to an analysis by the humanitarian bureau of the Yugoslav Red
Cross, international humanitarian assistance met only the needs of 14.7
percent of the refugees sheltering in Yugoslavia in 1996.
The allegedly peaceful reintegration of Eastern Slavonia into Croatia
and
the end of the U.N. Transitional Administration in Eastern Slavonia
(UNTAES) mission triggered another exodus of about 40,000 Serbs who
sought
shelter in Yugoslavia.
As on previous occasions, world media, however, for the largest part
chose
to disregard this exodus of Serbs.
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata said in Brussels in
1997
that it must not be forgotten that Yugoslavia had the highest number of
refugees, declaring 1998 the year of the repatriation of refugees.
Ogata said on that occasion that, under the UNHCR plan, 225,000 refugees
should return to Bosnia-Herzegovina and, of that figure, 20,000 Serbs
and
Croats should return to Sarajevo alone.
This goal was not achieved because both UNHCR and the international
community continued to favour Moslems and Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina
and
Croatia, showing much greater understanding for them than for Serbs.
Last year, the hypocrisy and true colours of world power-wielders,
specifically the United States and NATO, were revealed in the most
striking
way. The U.S.-led NATO aggression on Yugoslavia caused more deaths, the
country's destruction and a new exodus of 300,000 Serbs, this time from
Kosovo and Metohija.
In a meeting of the working group for humanitarian affairs of the Peace
Implementation Council in Geneva on December 9, Ogata said that it was
unacceptable that Europe had two million refugees on the eve of the 21st
century.
She said that, in the year 2000, the international community's
imperative
must be to ensure the return of all refugees and displaced persons to
their
homes throughout the former Yugoslavia.
Commenting on humanitarian issues at the end of the century, president
of
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Cornelio Sommaruga
said
that he was shocked by the situation in the field.
Sommaruga said that the critical position of refugees in Europe was the
result of a series of political mistakes and the fiasco of governments
and
their policies as well as religious leaders.
For one million refugees and displaced persons in Yugoslavia the year
2000
will be yet another year of hope that they will return to their homes,
integrate into the Yugoslav society or seek their fortune in third
countries.
B92 03/01/2000 ----------------------
RITROVATO CADAVERE DOPO DUE SETTIMANE
CASA DI SERBI COLPITA DA UNA BOMBA A MANO
News from Kosovo
KOSOVO, Monday - The body of Slavoljub Radunovic who has been missing
since
17th December was found last night by international police near Pec
patriarchate, Beta reports today. One of the priests from the
patriarchate
told AFP news agency that 30-year-old psychiatric patient Radunovic went
missing after leaving the patriarchate for a walk two weeks ago.
Unknown attackers threw a hand grenade at a Serbian house in the village
of
Binca on Saturday night, radio amateurs told Beta today. The grenade
missed
the window and exploded on the terrace. Nobody was injured in the
incident.
ODALOVIC SPERA CHE SI PONGA FINE ALLA VIOLENZA
Odalovic expresses his hopes for an end to the violence in Kosovo
JAGODINA, Monday -- My hope is that the violence against Serbs and other
non
Albanian citizens in Kosovo will come to an end this year, President of
the
Serbian National Parliament of Kosovo, Veljko Odalovic said in an
interview
for TV Palma plus today. Odalovic said that he also hoped that the
international community would come to realise the nonsensical politics
it has
been pursuing regarding Yugoslavia and Kosovo, and that the year 2000
would
be the year when refugees and displaced people would return to there
homes in
Kosovo.
IL DINARO JUGOSLAVO SARA' TOLTO DALLA CIRCOLAZIONE IN MONTENEGRO
Yugoslavian dinar to be taken out of circulation in Montenegro
MONTENEGRO, Monday - The Yugoslavian dinar will be taken out of
circulation
in Montenegro this year, President of the Montenegrin Monetary Council
Bozidar Gazivoda announced today. Gazivoda also said that preparations
for
the establishment of the Montenegrin National Bank are currently
underway as
are preparations for the introduction of the southern republic's own
currency. The replacement of the dinar with a new currency would cost
Montenegro thirty five million German marks.
Commenting on Gazivoda's announcement, Montenegrin President Milo
Djukanovic's advisor Steve Henke said today that Montenegro should avoid
the
establishment of their own national bank since that would involve a
further
burden on the tax payer, one which the population may not be able to
withstand.
YDS 03/01/2000 -----------------------
RITROVATO CADAVERE MUTILATO PRESSO PEC
MUTILATED BODY OF SERB CIVILIAN FOUND IN PEC
PEC, January 3 (Tanjug) - The mutilated body of a Serb civilian, who had
been abducted by ethnic Albanian terrorists on December 17, was found on
Sunday near the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Pec, in the west
of
the Yugoslav Republic of Serbia's Kosovo and Metohija Province.
The mutilated body of the victim, who had been abducted while doing the
shopping, indicates that he had been tortured before he was murdered,
radio
enthusiasts in Kosovo and Metohija reported.
ANCORA SACCHEGGI NELLE CASE SERBE PRESSO GNJILANE
ETHNIC ALBANIAN TERRORISTS CONTINUE TO PLUNDER SERB HOUSES IN GNJILANE
GNJILANE, January 3 (Tanjug) - Ethnic Albanian terrorists continued to
plunder before and after the New Year houses belonging to Serbs and
other
non-Albanians in Gnjilane, in the east of the Yugoslav Republic of
Serbia's
Kosovo and Metohija Province.
Radio enthusiasts quoted the local church-national board as saying that
ethnic Albanian criminals had stolen the entire furniture from one of
the
Serb houses.
The criminals continued to plunder that house even after troops of the
KFOR had sealed off the street where the house is located, gaining
access
to the house through the yards of ethnic Albanians living in the
neighbourhood.
During the New Year holidays, ethnic Albanian criminals plundered two
other Serb houses in Gnjilane.
Frequent power cuts, lasting even for 20 hours, make it easier for
ethnic
Albanians to plunder houses.
Serb villages near Gnjilane have for days been without power and water.
BOMBA A MANO CONTRO CASA DI SERBI
ETHNIC ALBANIAN TERRORISTS THROW HAND GRENADE AT SERB HOUSE
VITINA, January 3 (Tanjug) - Ethnic Albanian terrorists threw late on
Saturday a hand grenade at a Serb house in the mixedly-populated village
of
Binca at Vitina, in the southeast of the Yugoslav Republic of Serbia's
Kosovo and Metohija Province.
The grenade landed on the balcony of the house so that there were no
casualties, radio enthusiasts reported. The family living in the house
threw themselves on the floor as soon as they heard the grenade hit the
balcony so that shrapnel only shattered the windows.
Troops of the U.N. peacekeeping force KFOR who arrived at the scene only
established that there were no casualties taking no action against local
ethnic Albanian extremists responsible for the incident although their
identity is known to all in the village.
Dissatisfied with KFOR's attitude, Serbs in Vrbovac, the largest Serb
village in the Vitina area, have announced that they will form a Serb
protection corps because they can no longer rely on KFOR to offer them
protection.
FORZE UCK/KFOR IMPEGNATE NELLA INDIMIDAZIONE DEGLI
ESPONENTI DELLA MINORANZA DEI GORANI, IN KOSMET
KOSOVO-METOHIJA ALBANIAN KLA MEMBERS, U.N. POLICE RAID GORANY HOMES
DRAGAS, January 2 (Tanjug) - The ethnic Albanian so-called Kosovo
Liberation army (KLA), supported by U.N. police, raided on Sunday the
home
of a local official in the village of Vraniste outside Dragas in the
south
of U.N.-secured Kosovo-Metohija.
Without a warrant, they confiscated the hunting guns of Gora
Municipality
Secretary Mejdin Selmani, for which he holds a valid permit, a computer
with important files and other classified municipal documents, the
ethnic
Gorany Council said.
This is not the first time that U.N. forces in the Yugoslav Republic of
Serbia's Kosovo-Metohija Province have behaved arrogantly and violently
in
Vraniste, the Gorany Council said.
KLA troopers, escorted by U.N. police, daily raid Gorany homes, seeking
weapons which Goranies have, as agreed, turned
B92 02/01/2000 --------------------------------
BOMBA A MANO CONTRO LA CASA DI UNA FAMIGLIA ROM
A hand grenade was thrown at a Romanie house in Pec
KOSOVO, Sunday - A hand grenade was thrown at a Romanie house injuring
one
person and four Serb houses were burned to the ground in Pec yesterday
morning, KFOR stated today. Both incidents are under investigation.
Serbs from Gorazdevac blocked the road to Pec last night in protest at
an
attack on one Serb woman and her daughter which took place yesterday
afternoon. The woman and her daughter were shot at from a passing car.
Fortunately they were not injured in the incident.
ALAIN RICHARD PASSA IN RASSEGNA LE TRUPPE IN KOSMET
French Defense Minister arrives in Kosovo
KOSOVO, Sunday - French Defense Minister Alain Richard arrived in Kosovo
this
morning to visit French KFOR forces in the province. On arrival, Richard
went
straight to French KFOR headquarters in Pristina where he is due to meet
Head
of the UN Mission in Kosovo Bernard Kouchner and KFOR Commander Klaus
Reinhardt. During his stay in Kosovo, Richard plans to visit one Serb
and two
Albanian villages in the northern part of the province as well as the
town of
Kosovska Mitrovica where he is scheduled to meet with the Commander of
French
forces General Henri Payesa.
KOUCHNER: "IN KOSOVO SI INVESTE TROPPO POCO!"
Kouchner dissatisfied with lack of investment in Kosovo
KOSOVO, Sunday - Lack of funding has resulted in the postponing of
elections
in Kosovo, Head of the UN Mission Bernard Kouchner said today in his
first
interview of the New Year. Kouchner expressed his dissatisfaction with
the
current lack of money being invested in the province saying that UN
members
and European countries in particular should invest more money in Kosovo.
RILASCIATA LA SPIA DELLA ORGANIZZAZIONE "CARE"
Humanitarian worker Branko Jelen released from prison
ATLANTA, Sunday - The Yugoslav Government released CARE humanitarian
worker
Branko Jelen from prison on Friday. Branko Jelen was arrested for spying
during the NATO bombing campaign on Yugoslavia along with two Australian
activists Steve Pratt and Peter Wallace. Wallace and Pratt were given a
pardon by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic three months ago.
President
of CARE Peter Bell expressed his gratitude at Jelen's release at the
same
time emphasising that none of the three who were arrested had ever been
spies.
IL PATRIARCA PAVLE IN TERRA SANTA
Patriarch Pavle leaves for the Holy Land
BELGRADE, Sunday -- Serbian Patriarch Pavle today left for the Holy Land
where he will take part in celebrating 2000 years of Christianity along
with
the heads of all Orthodox Churches, reports Beta. Mass will be said on
Orthodox Christmas day 7th January in Bethlehem. Prime Ministers and
Presidents of all Orthodox countries are expected to attend the
celebrations.
VUJANOVIC: SE IL REGIME NON CAMBIA SPACCHIAMO IL PAESE
Vujanovic: Democratic changes in Serbia will decide the future of the
FRY
MONTENEGRO, Sunday - Democratic changes in Serbia will decide the future
of
the FRY, said Montenegrin Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic in his
interview for
the BBC today. Vujanovic said that Montenegro would wait for the
eventual
formation of a new democratic Serbia to solve the current dispute
between
Montenegro and Serbia.
B92 31/12/1999 -------------------------------------
MILOSEVIC: SUL MONTENEGRO DECIDERANNO I MONTENEGRINI
Milosevic: Montenegro has the right to choose
BELGRADE, Friday - The people of Montenegro have the right to choose
life
outside Yugoslavia if they believe they will be better off, FRY
President
Slobodan Milosevic said in his interview for Belgrade daily Politika
today.
Milosevic also said that nobody could take Kosovo from Yugoslavia and
that
the presence of UN security forces in the province is only temporary and
must
be endured with great patience.
In an interview for B2 92 today, President of the Montenegrin People's
Party
Novak Kilibarda said that he paid no heed to Milosevic's statement
concerning
Montenegro and that if Milosevic was serious, he should distance himself
from
Seselj's fascistic statements regarding the southern republic.
VENTI CASE INCENDIATE IN UN REMOTO VILLAGGIO DEL KOSMET
ALTRE DUE PERSONE TROVATE CADAVERI
Twenty houses burned to the ground in remote village in Kosovo
KOSOVO, Friday - In a remote village under the control of the multi
national
brigade East, twenty houses were burnt to the ground last night, KFOR
announced today. KFOR representatives said that the fire brigade was
unable
to reach the village due to the poor state of the roads in the area.
Two male bodies were found in Trestenik and a further two in Srbica last
night. The bodies have not yet been identified.
DJUKANOVIC: IL MONTENEGRO CONTINUERA' SULLA STRADA DELLA
SVENDITA ALL'IMPERIALISMO OCCIDENTALE
Djukanovic: Montenegro will continue its progress towards
democratisation
MONTENEGRO, Friday - Montenegro will persevere in its aim to develop
democratic institutions, a free market, cooperation with neighbouring
countries and its progress towards European and transatlantic
integration,
Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic said in his New Year address on
Montenegrin state television today. Djukanovic said that 1999 had
brought
many problems and difficulties and the self-destructive policies of the
Federal Government had lead Montenegro to the edge of war.
AFP 31/12/1999 -------------
MILOSEVIC ACCUSA L'OCCIDENTE
RFY: Milosevic dénonce la "culpabilité" de l'Occident envers la
Yougoslavie
BELGRADE (AFP) - Ven 31 Déc 99 - 8h33 heure de Paris - Le président
yougoslave Slobodan Milosevic a estimé que l'Occident devait tôt ou
tard reconnaître "sa culpabilité" envers la Yougoslavie, jugeant par
ailleurs que "le nouveau siècle sera plus juste et meilleur".
"L'Occident doit avoir le courage et la force morale d'affronter sa
culpabilité pour les crimes commis lors de l'agression contre la
Yougoslavie", a-t-il déclaré, parlant de la guerre aérienne
menée au début de cette année par l'OTAN dans une interview,
publiée vendredi par le quotidien Politika. "Plus il attendra, plus la
honte sera grande", a ajouté le président yougoslave.
L'opération aérienne de l'OTAN, déclenchée le 24 mars pour le
contraindre à accepter un accord sur le Kosovo et pour mettre fin aux
exactions des forces de Belgrade contre la population albanaise dans la
province, a fait plusieurs milliers de morts et a ravagé
l'infrastructure de la Yougoslavie.
"Au milieu de ce siècle, le fascisme a dû rendre des comptes devant
l'humanité. Je crois que ce monstre néofasciste n'échappera pas au
jugement de son époque, de l'humanité, de l'histoire contemporaine",
a dit M. Milosevic, parlant de l'OTAN.
Quant au 21ème siècle, le président yougoslave estime qu'il sera
"plus juste et meilleur" que le précédent. "Je crois que la tendance
positive qui s'est exprimée au 20ème siècle l'emportera sur la
tendance destructive qui s'est manifestée à un haut degré, surtout
à la fin de ce siècle", a déclaré M. Milosevic.
Bien sûr, "le danger de guerre est présent dans chaque partie de la
planète", et "la peur d'une guerre mondiale est présente à juste
titre parmi la population du globe", a-t-il observé, néanmoins,
continue-t-il, "je suis convaincu que le nouveau siècle sera plus
juste et meilleur".
Interrogé sur ses voeux pour l'an 2000 aux citoyens de la Yougoslavie
qui ont connu en 1999 le conflit entre les Albanais du Kosovo et les
forces de Belgrade, les sanctions occidentales et les bombardements de
l'OTAN, M. Milosevic a répondu: "Je souhaite la paix à notre pays".
"Qu'il se développe librement, rapidement, de manière moderne et
avec succès. Je lui souhaite de coopérer avec le monde entier, de
manière équitable et mutuellement profitable", a-t-il poursuivi. "Je
crois que notre peuple obtiendra au cours du prochain siècle la
tranquillité et le bien-être qu'il a mérités", a-t-il conclu.
© 1999 AFP
==================================================================
NOTA DEL CRJ: Le notizie in lingua straniera sono introdotte da un
nostro titolo in italiano per facilitarne la consultazione.
La nostra selezione di notizie contiene brani da fonti diverse:
YDS - e' la "Yugoslav Daily Survey" del Ministero degli Esteri della
RFJ (cfr. http://www.mfa.gov.yu/ ).
B92 - sono le notizie che provengono dalla mailing list di RadioB2-92,
di orientamento antigovernativo e filo-occidentale:
> freeb92-e is an open mailing list for distribution of news by Radio
> B2-92. News bulletins are updated at 19.00 CET Monday to Friday and
> at 23.00 CET on Saturday and Sunday.
> For more information on FreeB92 and Radio B2-92, visit:
> http://www.freeb92.net/
AFP - e' l'agenzia di stampa francese France Presse.
IWPR - e' il bollettino dell'Institute for War & Peace Reporting
<info@...>
> Balkan Crisis Report is supported by the Department for International
> Development, European Commission, Swedish International Development and
> Cooperation Agency, MacArthur Foundation, Press Now and the Carnegie
> Corporation. IWPR also acknowledges general support from the Ford
Foundation.
> *** VISIT IWPR ON-LINE: www.iwpr.net ***
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
------------------------------------------------------------
ACCUSE DI COLLUSIONE CON IL CRIMINE ORGANIZZATO
PER LA DESTRA DI GOVERNO DELLA MACEDONIA
CRIME AND POLITICS IN MACEDONIA
Opposition politicians and media have intensified accusations of
government
collusion with organised crime in Macedonia following the murder of
three
police officers on routine patrol.
By Zeljko Bajic in Skopje
During a routine patrol January 11, four Macedonian police officers
stopped
three cars in Aracinovo, a mainly ethnic Albanian village. While they
were
checking the first vehicle, the occupants of the other two cars opened
fire
with automatic weapons, killing three of the officers instantly. The
fourth
managed to escape with gunshot wounds.
The police authorities believe the cars were stolen and that the
occupants
were delivering them to Kosovo. The Macedonian media is full of
speculation
that the killers belonged to an Albanian criminal gang. Three ethnic
Albanian suspects have been named as Ibrahim Musa from Aracinovo, Nijazi
N.
from Skopje and Ibrahim N. from Kacanik. The village of Aracinovo has
long
been suspected of housing a roaring trade in smuggled cigarettes,
narcotics,
weapons and cars.
Leading Albanian and Macedonian politicians quickly issued conciliatory
public statements, in light of intensified public fear that the incident
will dramatically worsen the already tense relations between the ethnic
Macedonian and Albanian populations. It is only the latest in a string
of
violent incidents involving the police in which ethnic Albanians have
been
killed.
Arben Xhaferi, leader of the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA) and the
dominant force in ethnic Albanian politics, stressed that the killings
should not become a political issue, and that the police should be
allowed
to complete their investigation. This view was re-iterated by Prime
Minister
Ljupco Georgievski, leader of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary
Organisation-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity
(VMRO-DPMNE),
the leading member of the governing coalition.
Such a common position is notable in Macedonia, especially light of
previous
charges by the DPA that any accusations against Albanians for alleged
mafia
links are motivated by ethnic chauvinism.
The police statement following the incident was also notable.
Previously,
police authorities, which have always been closely tied to the political
interests of the ruling party, have placed blame elsewhere for violent
incidents. The current minister for police, Dosta Dimovska, is a
VMRO-DPMNE
party ideologue, who recently replaced Pavle Trajanov, the only
non-party
official to hold the top police post since Macedonia gained
independence.
Yet in a statement after the incident, the police accepted
responsibility
for the officers' deaths in the bungled raid. Macedonian radio reported
that
there might have been a leak from within the police alerting the
criminals
that a police inspection was imminent.
Nevertheless, politically independent media in Macedonia, such as
Dnevnik
daily, have accused the authorities of creating a party political police
force rather than an independent and professional one.
Other media have seen the Aracinovo case not as a harbinger of worsening
inter-ethnic relations but as proof of a dangerous and growing link
between
crime and politics. The Skopje independent daily Makedonija Denes, which
is
sympathetic to the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, has published a
complex analysis arguing that Macedonia is being increasingly drawn down
criminal paths leading to Kosovo, which it called "a black hole and home
to
the most shady deals in this part of the Balkans".
The paper accused the ruling coalition of controlling the profits and
flow
of money generated by such "shady deals". It alleged that there are
clearly
established rules governing who controls the smuggling of cigarettes,
who
enables narcotics trafficking and who participates in illegal arms
trade.
According to Makedonija Denes, about 70 per cent of illegal trades can
be
ascribed to the DPA, while the rest of the profit go into the pockets of
the
VMRO-DPMNE.
Similar accusations could be heard during the last session of parliament
just before New Year. The opposition Social Democratic Alliance accused
the
ruling coalition of reaching a "gentlemen's-mafia agreement" to prevent
internal, violent feuds. Opposition newspapers such as Start and
Utrinjski
Vesnik claimed that this agreement ensured that where the VMRO-DPMNE
dominated illegal business the DPA would not interfere, and vice-versa.
Opposition parties persistently accuse Georgievski of forming a
coalition
with a party, the DPA, which they allege is financed by the Albanian
mafia.
If it emerges that the mafia is behind the killings of the three police
officers in Aracinovo, such accusations of mafia links could put DPA
leader
Xhaferi in a very tight position. Having smugly declared during the
Kosovo
crisis that it was "keeping the situation under control" - that is,
firmly
monitoring Albanian radicalism and ties to Kosovo - the DPA will have a
difficult time convincing the media and the public that it does not know
what is going on in villages such as Aracinovo now.
Meantime, the lack of an adequate police and judicial system in Kosovo
only
encourages the rising crime rate in Macedonia. Despite the arrival of
KFOR
troops in Kosovo, civilian authority is still not functioning
effectively.
An effective international authority in Kosovo would provide a great
boost
for the Macedonian security services.
As it is, Kosovo remains open for unregulated and illegal business,
while
Macedonia's role as a key organising and transit point for criminal
activity
has grown. Thus, even if the Macedonian police were seriously to take on
the
forces of organised crimes, they are left to their own devices and have
little chance of success.
Zeljko Bajic is a journalist in Skopje.
B92 14/01/2000 ---------------------------
ESTESO IL MANDATO DELLA MISSIONE ONU SULLA
PENISOLA JUGOSLAVA DI PREKLAVA, AL CONFINE
CON LA CROAZIA
Prevlaka mission mandate extended
NEW YORK, Friday - The UN Security Council has extended the mandate of
the UN
monitoring mission on the Prevlaka Peninsula for another six months. The
mission, which monitors the disputed border between Yugoslavia and
Croatia on
the Adriatic Coast will now remain until at least July 15 this year. The
Security Council also called on Croatia and Yugoslavia to urgently
engage in
negotiations to resolve the border dispute.
B92 07/01/2000 ---------------------------
IL MINISTRO DEGLI ESTERI CECO SI CONSIDERA
INNOCENTE PER I CRIMINI DELLA NATO
I don't feel guilty: Czech foreign minister
PRAGUE, Friday - Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kavan told media last night
that
he felt no guilt for the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, despite a proposal
by a
group of lawyers to charge 68 world leaders with war crimes over the
intervention. Kavan, who is charged along with Czech President Vaclav
Havel
said that his conscience was clear over all he had done during the
Kosovo
crisis, adding that he did not believe the Hague Tribunal would issue
indictments.
MANCA L'ACQUA IN JUGOSLAVIA
Yugoslavia facing water shortages
BELGRADE, Friday - More than a million people in Yugoslavia could be
without
water in the near future because of water table contamination caused by
NATO
bombing, Serbian Environment Ministry representative Gordana Brun said
today.
Oil released in attacks on storage depots was slowly seeping into the
water
table and could lead to massive contamination, said Brun, adding that
the
danger of contamination was particularly serious in the area of Novi
Sad,
capital of the northern province of Vojvodina.
SCISMA ALL'INCONTRARIO (FILO-VATICANO)
PER LA CHIESA ORTODOSSA MONTENEGRINA
Police ban Montenegrin Church service
PODGORICA, Friday - Police in the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica last
night
prevented members of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church from carrying out a
traditional ritual in front of the Court of King Nikola as part of last
night's Orthodox Christmas Eve ceremonies. Police later gave security as
the
reason for the ban, saying that priests and faithful of the majority
Serbian
Orthodox Church were inside the Court Chapel. After failing to persuade
police to allow the ceremony to go ahead, Montenegrin church members
performed the traditional ritual of burning oak branches in front of
police
cordons. Members of the Social Democratic Party, part of the
Montenegro's
governing coalition, attended the ceremony. Party President Zarko
Rakcevic
described the police intervention as a scandal, saying that he would
raise
the matter with the party's central committee.
PROTESTA DEI SERBI IN KOSMET
Serbs protest in Kosovo
PRISTINA, Friday - Angry Serbs from Bresje, near Kosovo Polje, today
threatened to block the main highway between Pristina and Pec. The
villagers
were protesting at an incident last night in which four Albanians gunned
down
local Serb Momcilo Velickovic in the courtyard of his home. Velickovic
was
reported today to be in a critical condition, awaiting transfer to Nis
hospital following surgery in a Russian mobile surgical unit.
Two Serb women were murdered by Albanian extremists in Prizren this
morning,
according to the local Centre for Peace and Tolerance. State media
report
that the two women were killed on their way to Christmas services at a
local
church. They are believed to have been Croatian Serb refugees from
Krajina.
In other incidents in Kosovo, Pristina correspondent Danijel Kovacevic
reports that a 39-year-old Serb woman was killed near Pec, and another
Serb
murdered in Kosovo Polje yesterday. Kovacevic also reports another three
Serbs beaten last night in Lipljane on their way to Christmas Eve
services at
a local church. KFOR reports today that ten people were arrested in
Kosovo
yesterday for illegal possession of weapons.
IL VINCITORE DELLE ELEZIONI CROATE IVICA RACAN
SEGUE LE ORME DEL SUO PREDECESSORE NELLA POLITICA DI
CATTIVO VICINATO CON LE ALTRE REPUBBLICHE EX-FEDERATE
Croatian PM designate against new Balkan federations
ZAGREB, Friday - The man elected to lead Croatia's new government, Ivica
Racan, said today that he would resist the Balkan element in Croatia's
political life. Racan said he would support cooperation and good
relations
with Croatia's neighbours, but was against any new federation of Balkan
countries because Croatia, which was at the same time a Mediterranean,
Middle
European and Balkan state, did not need "that kind of Balkans". The
prime-minister-to-be emphasised that his government was not running away
from
the region but was opposed to any union of a neo-Yugoslav nature.
B92 05/01/2000 --------------------
TRA QUALCHE SETTIMANA IL MONTENEGRO
ABBANDONERA' IL DINARO
Montenegro to drop dinar within weeks
PODGORICA, Wednesday - The Yugoslav dinar will no longer be official
currency
in Montenegro by the end of this month, a member of the Montenegrin
Monetary
Council said today. Dimitrije Vesovic told Podgorica daily "Pobjeda"
that the
withdrawal of the dinar was no longer a political decision but was
dictated
by practice, as there are no longer dinars in circulation in Montenegro
and
the money mass had been reduced to tens of millions of dinars. Vesovic
also
said that draft plans for establishment of the Montenegrin National Bank
were
in preparation and would be tabled in the republic's parliament.
RIPETUTE AZIONI DEI TERRORISTI NATO/UCK
FUORI DAL KOSMET, VERSO LA SERBIA CENTRALE
South Serbia "under attack"
KURSUMLIJA, Wednesday - Villagers from the southern Serbian municipality
of
Kursumlija today announced that they would organise a civil defence
force if
the number of police on the Kosovo border were not increased. Milos
Kujovic,
from the village of Matarovo, told Beta agency that a large group of
Albanians had attacked the village from across the border on December
12.
Kursumlija Municipal President Borivoje Urosevic told media that six
people
from the municipality had been killed in incidents on the Kosovo border,
adding that he had several times warned the Serbian government that
Kursumlija was still at war.
PRESA A BASTONATE ANZIANA SERBA-KOSOVARA
Elderly Serb woman beaten
KOSOVO POLJE - An elderly Serb woman who was beaten by a group of
Albanian
boys in Kosovo Polje did not report the attack to UN police for fear of
reprisals, the local Centre for Peace and Tolerance told media today.
The
centre statement added that a number of attacks, threats and burglaries
in
the area had gone unreported for the same reason.
The head of the United Nations civilian mission in Kosovo, Bernard
Kouchner,
is expected to discuss the security situation in Kosovo this evening
with
Serb leaders at the Gracanica monastery. The agenda will include the
possibility of establishing local self-management of Serb enclaves in
the
province.
YDS 04/01/2000 ----------------------------------
IL MINISTRO PER I PROFUGHI DELLA RFJ: I RIFUGIATI
VERRANNO RIMPATRIATI QUEST'ANNO
MINISTER MORINA: REFUGEES WILL BE REPATRIATED IN 2000
NIS, January 3 (Tanjug) - Yugoslav Minister for Refugee Affairs
expressed
hope on Monday that the political and overall situation in Yugoslavia
and
the region would be stabilised in the year 2000, allowing for the
repatriation of refugees and displaced people.
"I am sure the present dramatic situation in Kosovo and Metohija will
change and the truth and justice prevail, to allow for the return of
around
300,000 displaced people, driven from their ancestral hearths by ethnic
Albanian terrorists and extremists," Minister Bratislava Morina told
TANJUG.
Morina stressed the importance of implementing U.N. Resolution 1244,
which
was being violated precisely by the forces deployed to ensure peace,
security and equality for all ethnic communities in Kosovo and Metohija.
"I expect U.N. civilian mission (UNMIK) chief Bernard Kouchner to be
replaced soon and leave the southern Serbian province, where he has made
chaos and allowed the ethnic Albanian chauvinists to achieve their dream
of
an ethnically pure Kosovo and Metohija," she said.
ODALOVIC: SAREBBE ORA CHE LA COMUNITA' INTERNAZIONALE
FACESSE IL SUO DOVERE IN KOSOVO E METOHIJA
ODALOVIC: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MUST DO ITS DUTY IN KOSMET
JAGODINA, January 3 (Tanjug) - A Kosovo and Metohija Serbian assembly
official said on Monday that the international community must in the
year
2000 fully discharge its obligations undertaken in connection with that
U.N.-administered Serbian province.
Veljko Odalovic, who heads the Executive Board of the Serbian National
Assembly for Kosovo and Metohija, was speaking by phone for a local
television station in Jagodina, central Serbia.
Odalovic said the international community must guarantee the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of Yugoslavia and Serbia, and make it clear to
ethnic Albanian separatists that they will not be allowed to snatch away
Kosovo and Metohija.
"I hope the international community will realise the madness of its
policy
towards Serbia and Yugoslavia, and especially what is being done in
Kosovo
and Metohija, and that the violence of ethnic Albanian separatists which
has gone on under the wing of the international KFOR force and the U.N.
civilian mission (UNMIK) in the second half of 1999 will stop," he said.
The job the peace mission has done in Kosovo and Metohija so far has
left
the impression that it has been feeding the hope of separatist gangs
that
they can with violence create a state of their own in Kosovo and
Metohija,
according to Odalovic.
Since the U.N. forces' deployment, hundreds of people have been murdered
and abducted, hundreds of thousands have been displaced, tens of
thousands
of homes have been plundered and torched, he said.
This is "the only concrete result achieved by KFOR and UNMIK in Kosovo
and
Metohija," according to Odalovic.
He hoped that "displaced Serbs and other non-Albanians, as well as
displaced ethnic Albanians will this year start back for their homes and
jobs in Kosovo and Metohija, which they have been forced to leave since
mid-June under threat from ethnic Albanian terrorists".
Responsibility for their return should be taken by the U.N. forces which
had been deployed to Kosovo and Metohija with the mandate of providing
security for all living there, he stressed.
DUE MILIONI DI RIFUGIATI IN EUROPA
EUROPE IS FACED WITH TWO MILLION REFUGEES
BELGRADE, January 4 (Tanjug) - Two million refugees and displaced
persons
from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and the Yugoslav republic of Serbia's
Kosovo and Metohija province will spend 2000, the last year of this
century, far from their homes and scattered throughout the states
emerging
from the former Yugoslavia, in the heart of Europe.
Half of the figure are Serb refugees and displaced persons from
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia (700,000) and Kosovo and Metohija
(300,000)
who have sought shelter in Yugoslavia which has for years been under the
regime of sanctions imposed by world power-wielders and which was
devastated still further during NATO's 78-day bombing campaign.
Yugoslavia is the only state in Europe where at least 500,000 refugees
have been sheltering at some point or another over the past eight years.
The country was faced with the biggest wave of refugees following the
outbreak of civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1992. Between 800,000 and
one million refugees sought shelter in Yugoslavia between early 1992 and
late 1993.
>From that point on, the country has been spending five percent of its
gross domestic product annually to provide refugees with accommodation,
food, clothing, footwear, health care and education.
International humanitarian organisations justified their belated action
by
a media campaign which was aimed at creating the impression that only
Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina were burdened with refugees and which
ignored those who had sought refuge in Yugoslavia.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the E.U. humanitarian
bureau (ECHO), the World Food Programme and the International Federation
of
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) offered assistance to
refugees
in Yugoslavia as late as late 1993 and 1994. Following a brief lull in
fighting in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1993, new clashes between Moslems and
Croats broke out in 1994 but the international community was incapable
of
finding a real solution to stabilise the situation in the former
Yugoslav
republic and the entire region.
Operation Lightning that the Croatian army launched against Western
Slavonia on May 1, 1995, and Operation Storm, launched against Krajina
on
August 5, 1995, triggered another exodus of Serbs, tens of thousands of
them, mainly women, children and the elderly, who were shelled
continually
for seven days while trying to reach safety. Moreover, thousands of
Serbs
were killed during the Croatian army's two military campaigns.
At this point, only several thousand elderly Serbs live in Banija, Lika,
Kordun and northern Dalmatia, while as many as 300,000 Serbs from these
areas have sought shelter in Yugoslavia. More than 2,000 Serbs were
listed
missing during Operation Lightning and Operation Storm.
The exodus of Serbs was not over, however. Peace accords for
Bosnia-Herzegovina signed in Dayton and Paris in 1995 triggered another
wave of refugees from four Sarajevo districts that were given to the
Moslem-Croat federation under the accords.
Fifty thousand Serb refugees sought shelter in Yugoslavia after that,
while about 30,000 Serbs fled Sarajevo for the (Bosnian Serb) Republika
Srpska.
The international community's failure over the years to recognise the
fact
that at least 700,000 refugees and displaced persons are sheltering in
Yugoslavia and its favouring of refugees sheltering in
Bosnia-Herzegovina
and Croatia, prompted Belgrade to request that UNHCR conduct the
registration of refugees sheltering in the country.
The registration, which UNHCR carried out together with the Serbian
Refugee Commissioner in 1996, showed that 617,728 refugees and displaced
persons had regulated their status in Yugoslavia, while another 120,005
persons had applied to be registered as refugees.
Serbs account for nearly 500,000 of the total figure of refugees
sheltering in the country, Croats for 4,000, Moslems for 4,847, those
who
declare themselves as Yugoslavs for 7,900 and others for about 24,000.
The
registration of refugees in Yugoslavia, however, did not lead to bigger
humanitarian assistance. Quite the opposite was the case.
Consequently, in 1996, international humanitarian organisations provided
assistance to only 250,000 refugees in Yugoslavia who were in the most
critical position, including children under 18, people over 65, mothers
with children, chronically-ill and handicapped people and invalids.
According to an analysis by the humanitarian bureau of the Yugoslav Red
Cross, international humanitarian assistance met only the needs of 14.7
percent of the refugees sheltering in Yugoslavia in 1996.
The allegedly peaceful reintegration of Eastern Slavonia into Croatia
and
the end of the U.N. Transitional Administration in Eastern Slavonia
(UNTAES) mission triggered another exodus of about 40,000 Serbs who
sought
shelter in Yugoslavia.
As on previous occasions, world media, however, for the largest part
chose
to disregard this exodus of Serbs.
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata said in Brussels in
1997
that it must not be forgotten that Yugoslavia had the highest number of
refugees, declaring 1998 the year of the repatriation of refugees.
Ogata said on that occasion that, under the UNHCR plan, 225,000 refugees
should return to Bosnia-Herzegovina and, of that figure, 20,000 Serbs
and
Croats should return to Sarajevo alone.
This goal was not achieved because both UNHCR and the international
community continued to favour Moslems and Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina
and
Croatia, showing much greater understanding for them than for Serbs.
Last year, the hypocrisy and true colours of world power-wielders,
specifically the United States and NATO, were revealed in the most
striking
way. The U.S.-led NATO aggression on Yugoslavia caused more deaths, the
country's destruction and a new exodus of 300,000 Serbs, this time from
Kosovo and Metohija.
In a meeting of the working group for humanitarian affairs of the Peace
Implementation Council in Geneva on December 9, Ogata said that it was
unacceptable that Europe had two million refugees on the eve of the 21st
century.
She said that, in the year 2000, the international community's
imperative
must be to ensure the return of all refugees and displaced persons to
their
homes throughout the former Yugoslavia.
Commenting on humanitarian issues at the end of the century, president
of
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Cornelio Sommaruga
said
that he was shocked by the situation in the field.
Sommaruga said that the critical position of refugees in Europe was the
result of a series of political mistakes and the fiasco of governments
and
their policies as well as religious leaders.
For one million refugees and displaced persons in Yugoslavia the year
2000
will be yet another year of hope that they will return to their homes,
integrate into the Yugoslav society or seek their fortune in third
countries.
B92 03/01/2000 ----------------------
RITROVATO CADAVERE DOPO DUE SETTIMANE
CASA DI SERBI COLPITA DA UNA BOMBA A MANO
News from Kosovo
KOSOVO, Monday - The body of Slavoljub Radunovic who has been missing
since
17th December was found last night by international police near Pec
patriarchate, Beta reports today. One of the priests from the
patriarchate
told AFP news agency that 30-year-old psychiatric patient Radunovic went
missing after leaving the patriarchate for a walk two weeks ago.
Unknown attackers threw a hand grenade at a Serbian house in the village
of
Binca on Saturday night, radio amateurs told Beta today. The grenade
missed
the window and exploded on the terrace. Nobody was injured in the
incident.
ODALOVIC SPERA CHE SI PONGA FINE ALLA VIOLENZA
Odalovic expresses his hopes for an end to the violence in Kosovo
JAGODINA, Monday -- My hope is that the violence against Serbs and other
non
Albanian citizens in Kosovo will come to an end this year, President of
the
Serbian National Parliament of Kosovo, Veljko Odalovic said in an
interview
for TV Palma plus today. Odalovic said that he also hoped that the
international community would come to realise the nonsensical politics
it has
been pursuing regarding Yugoslavia and Kosovo, and that the year 2000
would
be the year when refugees and displaced people would return to there
homes in
Kosovo.
IL DINARO JUGOSLAVO SARA' TOLTO DALLA CIRCOLAZIONE IN MONTENEGRO
Yugoslavian dinar to be taken out of circulation in Montenegro
MONTENEGRO, Monday - The Yugoslavian dinar will be taken out of
circulation
in Montenegro this year, President of the Montenegrin Monetary Council
Bozidar Gazivoda announced today. Gazivoda also said that preparations
for
the establishment of the Montenegrin National Bank are currently
underway as
are preparations for the introduction of the southern republic's own
currency. The replacement of the dinar with a new currency would cost
Montenegro thirty five million German marks.
Commenting on Gazivoda's announcement, Montenegrin President Milo
Djukanovic's advisor Steve Henke said today that Montenegro should avoid
the
establishment of their own national bank since that would involve a
further
burden on the tax payer, one which the population may not be able to
withstand.
YDS 03/01/2000 -----------------------
RITROVATO CADAVERE MUTILATO PRESSO PEC
MUTILATED BODY OF SERB CIVILIAN FOUND IN PEC
PEC, January 3 (Tanjug) - The mutilated body of a Serb civilian, who had
been abducted by ethnic Albanian terrorists on December 17, was found on
Sunday near the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Pec, in the west
of
the Yugoslav Republic of Serbia's Kosovo and Metohija Province.
The mutilated body of the victim, who had been abducted while doing the
shopping, indicates that he had been tortured before he was murdered,
radio
enthusiasts in Kosovo and Metohija reported.
ANCORA SACCHEGGI NELLE CASE SERBE PRESSO GNJILANE
ETHNIC ALBANIAN TERRORISTS CONTINUE TO PLUNDER SERB HOUSES IN GNJILANE
GNJILANE, January 3 (Tanjug) - Ethnic Albanian terrorists continued to
plunder before and after the New Year houses belonging to Serbs and
other
non-Albanians in Gnjilane, in the east of the Yugoslav Republic of
Serbia's
Kosovo and Metohija Province.
Radio enthusiasts quoted the local church-national board as saying that
ethnic Albanian criminals had stolen the entire furniture from one of
the
Serb houses.
The criminals continued to plunder that house even after troops of the
KFOR had sealed off the street where the house is located, gaining
access
to the house through the yards of ethnic Albanians living in the
neighbourhood.
During the New Year holidays, ethnic Albanian criminals plundered two
other Serb houses in Gnjilane.
Frequent power cuts, lasting even for 20 hours, make it easier for
ethnic
Albanians to plunder houses.
Serb villages near Gnjilane have for days been without power and water.
BOMBA A MANO CONTRO CASA DI SERBI
ETHNIC ALBANIAN TERRORISTS THROW HAND GRENADE AT SERB HOUSE
VITINA, January 3 (Tanjug) - Ethnic Albanian terrorists threw late on
Saturday a hand grenade at a Serb house in the mixedly-populated village
of
Binca at Vitina, in the southeast of the Yugoslav Republic of Serbia's
Kosovo and Metohija Province.
The grenade landed on the balcony of the house so that there were no
casualties, radio enthusiasts reported. The family living in the house
threw themselves on the floor as soon as they heard the grenade hit the
balcony so that shrapnel only shattered the windows.
Troops of the U.N. peacekeeping force KFOR who arrived at the scene only
established that there were no casualties taking no action against local
ethnic Albanian extremists responsible for the incident although their
identity is known to all in the village.
Dissatisfied with KFOR's attitude, Serbs in Vrbovac, the largest Serb
village in the Vitina area, have announced that they will form a Serb
protection corps because they can no longer rely on KFOR to offer them
protection.
FORZE UCK/KFOR IMPEGNATE NELLA INDIMIDAZIONE DEGLI
ESPONENTI DELLA MINORANZA DEI GORANI, IN KOSMET
KOSOVO-METOHIJA ALBANIAN KLA MEMBERS, U.N. POLICE RAID GORANY HOMES
DRAGAS, January 2 (Tanjug) - The ethnic Albanian so-called Kosovo
Liberation army (KLA), supported by U.N. police, raided on Sunday the
home
of a local official in the village of Vraniste outside Dragas in the
south
of U.N.-secured Kosovo-Metohija.
Without a warrant, they confiscated the hunting guns of Gora
Municipality
Secretary Mejdin Selmani, for which he holds a valid permit, a computer
with important files and other classified municipal documents, the
ethnic
Gorany Council said.
This is not the first time that U.N. forces in the Yugoslav Republic of
Serbia's Kosovo-Metohija Province have behaved arrogantly and violently
in
Vraniste, the Gorany Council said.
KLA troopers, escorted by U.N. police, daily raid Gorany homes, seeking
weapons which Goranies have, as agreed, turned
B92 02/01/2000 --------------------------------
BOMBA A MANO CONTRO LA CASA DI UNA FAMIGLIA ROM
A hand grenade was thrown at a Romanie house in Pec
KOSOVO, Sunday - A hand grenade was thrown at a Romanie house injuring
one
person and four Serb houses were burned to the ground in Pec yesterday
morning, KFOR stated today. Both incidents are under investigation.
Serbs from Gorazdevac blocked the road to Pec last night in protest at
an
attack on one Serb woman and her daughter which took place yesterday
afternoon. The woman and her daughter were shot at from a passing car.
Fortunately they were not injured in the incident.
ALAIN RICHARD PASSA IN RASSEGNA LE TRUPPE IN KOSMET
French Defense Minister arrives in Kosovo
KOSOVO, Sunday - French Defense Minister Alain Richard arrived in Kosovo
this
morning to visit French KFOR forces in the province. On arrival, Richard
went
straight to French KFOR headquarters in Pristina where he is due to meet
Head
of the UN Mission in Kosovo Bernard Kouchner and KFOR Commander Klaus
Reinhardt. During his stay in Kosovo, Richard plans to visit one Serb
and two
Albanian villages in the northern part of the province as well as the
town of
Kosovska Mitrovica where he is scheduled to meet with the Commander of
French
forces General Henri Payesa.
KOUCHNER: "IN KOSOVO SI INVESTE TROPPO POCO!"
Kouchner dissatisfied with lack of investment in Kosovo
KOSOVO, Sunday - Lack of funding has resulted in the postponing of
elections
in Kosovo, Head of the UN Mission Bernard Kouchner said today in his
first
interview of the New Year. Kouchner expressed his dissatisfaction with
the
current lack of money being invested in the province saying that UN
members
and European countries in particular should invest more money in Kosovo.
RILASCIATA LA SPIA DELLA ORGANIZZAZIONE "CARE"
Humanitarian worker Branko Jelen released from prison
ATLANTA, Sunday - The Yugoslav Government released CARE humanitarian
worker
Branko Jelen from prison on Friday. Branko Jelen was arrested for spying
during the NATO bombing campaign on Yugoslavia along with two Australian
activists Steve Pratt and Peter Wallace. Wallace and Pratt were given a
pardon by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic three months ago.
President
of CARE Peter Bell expressed his gratitude at Jelen's release at the
same
time emphasising that none of the three who were arrested had ever been
spies.
IL PATRIARCA PAVLE IN TERRA SANTA
Patriarch Pavle leaves for the Holy Land
BELGRADE, Sunday -- Serbian Patriarch Pavle today left for the Holy Land
where he will take part in celebrating 2000 years of Christianity along
with
the heads of all Orthodox Churches, reports Beta. Mass will be said on
Orthodox Christmas day 7th January in Bethlehem. Prime Ministers and
Presidents of all Orthodox countries are expected to attend the
celebrations.
VUJANOVIC: SE IL REGIME NON CAMBIA SPACCHIAMO IL PAESE
Vujanovic: Democratic changes in Serbia will decide the future of the
FRY
MONTENEGRO, Sunday - Democratic changes in Serbia will decide the future
of
the FRY, said Montenegrin Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic in his
interview for
the BBC today. Vujanovic said that Montenegro would wait for the
eventual
formation of a new democratic Serbia to solve the current dispute
between
Montenegro and Serbia.
B92 31/12/1999 -------------------------------------
MILOSEVIC: SUL MONTENEGRO DECIDERANNO I MONTENEGRINI
Milosevic: Montenegro has the right to choose
BELGRADE, Friday - The people of Montenegro have the right to choose
life
outside Yugoslavia if they believe they will be better off, FRY
President
Slobodan Milosevic said in his interview for Belgrade daily Politika
today.
Milosevic also said that nobody could take Kosovo from Yugoslavia and
that
the presence of UN security forces in the province is only temporary and
must
be endured with great patience.
In an interview for B2 92 today, President of the Montenegrin People's
Party
Novak Kilibarda said that he paid no heed to Milosevic's statement
concerning
Montenegro and that if Milosevic was serious, he should distance himself
from
Seselj's fascistic statements regarding the southern republic.
VENTI CASE INCENDIATE IN UN REMOTO VILLAGGIO DEL KOSMET
ALTRE DUE PERSONE TROVATE CADAVERI
Twenty houses burned to the ground in remote village in Kosovo
KOSOVO, Friday - In a remote village under the control of the multi
national
brigade East, twenty houses were burnt to the ground last night, KFOR
announced today. KFOR representatives said that the fire brigade was
unable
to reach the village due to the poor state of the roads in the area.
Two male bodies were found in Trestenik and a further two in Srbica last
night. The bodies have not yet been identified.
DJUKANOVIC: IL MONTENEGRO CONTINUERA' SULLA STRADA DELLA
SVENDITA ALL'IMPERIALISMO OCCIDENTALE
Djukanovic: Montenegro will continue its progress towards
democratisation
MONTENEGRO, Friday - Montenegro will persevere in its aim to develop
democratic institutions, a free market, cooperation with neighbouring
countries and its progress towards European and transatlantic
integration,
Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic said in his New Year address on
Montenegrin state television today. Djukanovic said that 1999 had
brought
many problems and difficulties and the self-destructive policies of the
Federal Government had lead Montenegro to the edge of war.
AFP 31/12/1999 -------------
MILOSEVIC ACCUSA L'OCCIDENTE
RFY: Milosevic dénonce la "culpabilité" de l'Occident envers la
Yougoslavie
BELGRADE (AFP) - Ven 31 Déc 99 - 8h33 heure de Paris - Le président
yougoslave Slobodan Milosevic a estimé que l'Occident devait tôt ou
tard reconnaître "sa culpabilité" envers la Yougoslavie, jugeant par
ailleurs que "le nouveau siècle sera plus juste et meilleur".
"L'Occident doit avoir le courage et la force morale d'affronter sa
culpabilité pour les crimes commis lors de l'agression contre la
Yougoslavie", a-t-il déclaré, parlant de la guerre aérienne
menée au début de cette année par l'OTAN dans une interview,
publiée vendredi par le quotidien Politika. "Plus il attendra, plus la
honte sera grande", a ajouté le président yougoslave.
L'opération aérienne de l'OTAN, déclenchée le 24 mars pour le
contraindre à accepter un accord sur le Kosovo et pour mettre fin aux
exactions des forces de Belgrade contre la population albanaise dans la
province, a fait plusieurs milliers de morts et a ravagé
l'infrastructure de la Yougoslavie.
"Au milieu de ce siècle, le fascisme a dû rendre des comptes devant
l'humanité. Je crois que ce monstre néofasciste n'échappera pas au
jugement de son époque, de l'humanité, de l'histoire contemporaine",
a dit M. Milosevic, parlant de l'OTAN.
Quant au 21ème siècle, le président yougoslave estime qu'il sera
"plus juste et meilleur" que le précédent. "Je crois que la tendance
positive qui s'est exprimée au 20ème siècle l'emportera sur la
tendance destructive qui s'est manifestée à un haut degré, surtout
à la fin de ce siècle", a déclaré M. Milosevic.
Bien sûr, "le danger de guerre est présent dans chaque partie de la
planète", et "la peur d'une guerre mondiale est présente à juste
titre parmi la population du globe", a-t-il observé, néanmoins,
continue-t-il, "je suis convaincu que le nouveau siècle sera plus
juste et meilleur".
Interrogé sur ses voeux pour l'an 2000 aux citoyens de la Yougoslavie
qui ont connu en 1999 le conflit entre les Albanais du Kosovo et les
forces de Belgrade, les sanctions occidentales et les bombardements de
l'OTAN, M. Milosevic a répondu: "Je souhaite la paix à notre pays".
"Qu'il se développe librement, rapidement, de manière moderne et
avec succès. Je lui souhaite de coopérer avec le monde entier, de
manière équitable et mutuellement profitable", a-t-il poursuivi. "Je
crois que notre peuple obtiendra au cours du prochain siècle la
tranquillité et le bien-être qu'il a mérités", a-t-il conclu.
© 1999 AFP
==================================================================
NOTA DEL CRJ: Le notizie in lingua straniera sono introdotte da un
nostro titolo in italiano per facilitarne la consultazione.
La nostra selezione di notizie contiene brani da fonti diverse:
YDS - e' la "Yugoslav Daily Survey" del Ministero degli Esteri della
RFJ (cfr. http://www.mfa.gov.yu/ ).
B92 - sono le notizie che provengono dalla mailing list di RadioB2-92,
di orientamento antigovernativo e filo-occidentale:
> freeb92-e is an open mailing list for distribution of news by Radio
> B2-92. News bulletins are updated at 19.00 CET Monday to Friday and
> at 23.00 CET on Saturday and Sunday.
> For more information on FreeB92 and Radio B2-92, visit:
> http://www.freeb92.net/
AFP - e' l'agenzia di stampa francese France Presse.
IWPR - e' il bollettino dell'Institute for War & Peace Reporting
<info@...>
> Balkan Crisis Report is supported by the Department for International
> Development, European Commission, Swedish International Development and
> Cooperation Agency, MacArthur Foundation, Press Now and the Carnegie
> Corporation. IWPR also acknowledges general support from the Ford
Foundation.
> *** VISIT IWPR ON-LINE: www.iwpr.net ***
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